Tiger Sportscards and Other Ramblings

Random Trivia

2011-05-25T04:14:00.000-05:00

I just recently purchased a new 57 card of Al Aber. While reading the back of the card I noticed the trivia question.

Now, this "fact" needs some explaining as to the circumstances surrounding the performance.
In May of 1912 Ty Cobb went into the stands in New York to attack a fan that had been heckling him for most of the game. The fan had been riding Cobb hard for the first 3 innings and Cobb had enough. Following this altercation AL president Ban Johnson fined Cobb $100 and suspended him indefinitely. This was the last Tiger game in New York and they next traveled to Philadelphia to play the A's. Cobb's teammates decided to support him and refused to play until he was reinstated, they did this under threat of suspension by Johnson. Johnson also said that the Tigers would be fined $5,000 for each missed game. Tiger owner Frank Naven was not about the pay the fine, so he recruited ball players from the local area to play the next game. He found 12 players in all, and paid them all to play until the regular players returned from their strike. You can imagine what a mismatch this was, and the Tiger manager left the pitcher in for the entire game.

The players ended their strike the next day after Johnson reduced the fine to $50 and the suspension to 10 games.

1981 Royals

2010-11-24T08:21:00.000-06:00

1981 Kansas City Royals

On to the AL West. First up, the AL Champion Royals. Growing up I somehows liked the Royals, but I don't know why. Maybe it was because they were always in the playoffs, and were not the Yankees. They won the division 4 times in the years 76-80, and made the playoffs in 81. Not a bad run during this time as they seemed to pick up afterthe A's dynasty years. A total of 37 different players saw action during the 1980 season. Lets see each of the card companies did in featuring cards of the players. Any players shown with other teams will count in the team % as they are considered checklisted.

Topps

24 Different player cards + 2 of the 3 "Future Stars" Manny Castillo and Mike Jones for a total of 26 players. (70%)

Topps nailed most of the major players. Other than Dave Chalk (69 games) their were not major players missing. That is due to Kansas City fielding a regular lineup day in and day out, with a lot of "minor" players seeing time as spare parts.

Fleer

23 Player cards + an extra Willie Wilson, Amos Otis, and George Brett (62%)

Interesting note that Fleer has the only card of Steve Busby, who was released on 8/29. Jeff Twitty is another player only in the Fleer set, but at least I had heard of Busby.

Donruss

20 players + Manager + Darell Porter+ and extra George Brett (57%)

Manged to get all of the major players.

Player selection grade: Topps - A; Fleer - A; Donruss - B

Rankings by Team

Topps

Yankees (87%)
Tigers (85%)
Brewers (82%)
Indians (82%)
Orioles (79%)
Red Sox (76%)
Royals (70%)
Blue Jays (65%)

Fleer

Yankees (85%)
Orioles (74%)
Tigers (71%)
Brewers (67%)
Indians (67%)
Royals (62%)
Blue Jays (57%)
Red Sox (54%)

Donruss

Orioles (71%)
Tigers (71%)
Brewers (70%)
Indians (67%)
Yankees (64%)
Red Sox (59%)
Royals (57%)
Blue Jays (51%)

1981 Blue Jays

2010-11-22T08:01:00.000-06:00

1981 Toronto Blue Jays

We finish up the AL East with the last place Blue Jays. The Blue Jays were horrible in the late 70s, but they were starting to put together a good solid team that would compete in the later half of the 80s. Good young players like Dave Stieb, Damaso Garcia, and Lloyd Moseby saw playing time in 1980 and George Bell would show up the next year. A total of 37 different players saw action during the 1980 season. Lets see each of the card companies did in featuring cards of the players. Any players shown with other teams will count in the team % as they are considered checklisted.

Topps

22 Different player cards + 2 of the 3 "Future Stars" Luis Leal and Ken Schrom for a total of 24 players. (65%)

By far the worst job by Topps to date. No posisiton players with less than 80 games played in Toronto with cards. That means no Doug Ault, Danny Ainge, Joe Cannon, Willie Upshaw, etc. Somehow we have a Phil Huffman who did not play in 1980. Among pitchers there is no Jesse Jefferson (claimed on waivers by Pittsburgh in Sept.) Jack Kucek, and tom Buskey were major omissions.

Fleer

21 Player cards +the manager (57%)

Blah. At least there is a Danny Ainge and the only card of Jesse Jefferson.

Donruss

18 players + Manager + Dave Lemanczyk (51%)

Worst job yet. No Lloyd Moseby or Jim Clancy.

Player selection grade: Topps - C; Fleer - C; Donruss - D

Rankings by Team

Topps

Yankees (87%)
Tigers (85%)
Brewers (82%)
Indians (82%)
Orioles (79%)
Red Sox (76%)
Blue Jays (65%)

Fleer

Yankees (85%)
Orioles (74%)
Tigers (71%)
Brewers (67%)
Indians (67%)
Blue Jays (57%)
Red Sox (54%)

Donruss

Orioles (71%)
Tigers (71%)
Brewers (70%)
Indians (67%)
Yankees (64%)
Red Sox (59%)
Blue Jays (51%)

Found in Retail

2010-11-20T09:10:00.000-06:00

Last night me and the wife went to Target in search of Christmas decorations to add to our tree. We have a bigger tree this year and need more stuff. When we were done in the Christmas area I wandered over to movies and magazines to look for gift ideas and my wife wandered off. She comes back and tells me that there are 2 different Topps sets in the card area, one marked 59.99 and one marked 49.99 and that I should go look. I wait and then go over as we finish. Keep in mind that she knows I am wanting to order a set for Christmas (Dave and Adams have a set for 37.95). Anyway, she shows me the cheaper set and shows me that it is on clearance for 34.95!!!!!! Shoot yeah, I but that sucker in my cart. I am not into the "Target Exclusive" Ruth (or Mantle), but I could not pass up the deal.

I also bought a rack pack of Update. I know I said that I would not buy these things, but I was in a buying mood. The pack gave me a nice surprise.

No, that was not it. I showed this for the airbrush/photoshop job by Topps. I noticed something odd about the photo (the yellow on the bat on the uniform looks too bright) and then noticed something in the background. Look at the right leg of the gentleman sitting in the white uniform. Notice his stirrups? That is the color pattern of the Cardinals. That is a Cardinal home uniform. Feliz is in a Cardinal away uniform. You would think that Topps would have learned to pay attention to the background when doctoring the photos, they did in 1973.

I got a hit. Not a Met fan, so if anyone is interested drop me a line and I will trade it for some Update doubles.

1981 Cleveland

2010-11-19T08:49:00.000-06:00

1981 Cleveland Indians

The 1980 Indians were one of two AL East teams that finished below .500, but they were only two games below. The 1980 season saw hope on the horizon with a fine ROY showing by Joe Charboneau and Andre Thorton coming back from injury (he missed all of 1980 with a knee injury). The sad thing is, the AL East was strong and it would take a lot to crack into the top 5 in that division. Celveland had a small roster, with only 33 different players suiting up (20 position players and 13 pitchers). the fact is that if you put all 3 sets together you would have cards of 31 of the 33 playes, with only Don Cllins the only one who I do not remember ever having a card. Lets see each of the card companies did in featuring cards of the players. Any players shown with other teams will count in the team % as they are considered checklisted.

Topps

24 Different player cards + 1 of the 3 "Future Stars" Sany Wihtol was the only one who played on the big club in 1980 + Cliff Johsnon (traded to Cubs in June) + Ron Pruitt (traded to White Sox in June) - Anrdre Thornton (DNP in 1980) - Eric Wilkins (Last ML action in 1979) for a total of 27 players. (82%)

I understand having a card of Thornton as he was agruably their best player, but the Wilkins card baffles me. I guess they needed someone to fill out the quota of tribers. No Mike Stanton, who appeared in 51 games, or Dave Rosello (71 games)

Fleer

21 Player cards +Johnson (67%)

Respectable job of player selection. they did miss out on Alan Bannister, Bo Diaz, Dave Rosello, John Denny and Dell Alston. Most of these players were semi-regulars, appearing in 52-76 games for the posistion players and 16 for Denny.

Donruss

20 players + Manageri + Johnson + Thornton + Bob Owchinko. Note on Owchinko, his team reads Pirates reflecting the trade of 12/9/80 that brought Bert Blyleven and Manny Sanguillen to Cleveland. None of the other players involved had their team name changed. (67%)

Not bad for Donruss with the only major omissions being Brohamer, Dan Spillner and Mike Stanton. Spillner was granted Free Agency in October and signed with Cleveland on 12/8/10, one day before the above trade. It is possible that Donruss removed the card from production and replaced it with another player thinking that Spillner would not be resigned.

As noted earlier, if you combine all 3 sets you get 31 of the 33 players and Andre Thornton. One of the missing is Andres Mora who had a card in a previous Topps set. I do not remember Don Collins.

Player selection grade: Topps - B; Fleer - B; Donruss - B

Rankings by Team

Topps

Yankees (87%)
Tigers (85%)
Brewers (82%)
Indians (82%)
Orioles (79%)
Red Sox (76%)

Fleer

Yankees (85%)
Orioles (74%)
Tigers (71%)
Brewers (67%)
Indians (67%)
Red Sox (54%)

Donruss

Orioles (71%)
Tigers (71%)
Brewers (70%)
Indians (67%)
Yankees (64%)
Red Sox (59%)

1981 Boston Red Sox

2010-11-17T08:41:00.000-06:00

1981 Boston Red Sox

The 1980 Red Sox finished 5th in the AL East, but had a record over .500. This fact shows how competitive the AL East was during this time period as only two teams in the East finished with records belwo .500, and one of them was 2 games under at the end of the season. Boston has the largest roster to date, with 41 different players suiting up (24 position players and 17 pitchers). Lets see each of the card companies did in featuring cards of the players. Any players shown with other teams will count in the team % as they are considered checklisted.

Topps

26 Different player cards + 3 "Future Stars" Reid Nichols, Keith MacWhorter, and Bruce Hurst + Stan Papi (Tigers) + Jack Brohamer (Indians) - Tom Poquette (DNP in 1980) for a total of 31 players. (76%)

Interesting in that Poquette did not play in 1980 and yet had a card in the set. Only notable omission is Gary Hancock, a utility player who appeared in 46 games.

Fleer

20 Player cards +manager + Papi + Brohamer + and extra Yaz (54%)

Better job by Fleer than Detroit, but still quite a few omissions. Missing are Dave Rader (backup C, 50 games), Andy Allenson, John Tudor, Chuck Rainey, Win Remmerswaal (was the name to large to put on the card?), and Skip Lockwood.

Donruss

23 players +Papi + extra Yaz. Counted Butch Hopson, but his team name reads Angels (traded 12/10/80) (59%)

Donruss did better than Fleer and they included John Tudor. However they missed Brohamer, Rainey, Bill Campbell, and Hancock.

Topps benefited by having a larger checklist of players (only company to have Bruce Hurst), Fleer had the only Gary Hancock, and Donruss did not do to bad. Interesting note as Donruss changed the team name on Butch Hopson to reflect the trade but did not change the team name on any of the other parties involved in the trade (Rick Burleson, Mark Clear, Carney Lansford and Rick Miller)

Player selection grade: Topps - A; Fleer - B; Donruss - B

Rankings by Team

Topps

Yankees (87%)
Tigers (85%)
Brewers (82%)
Orioles (79%)
Red Sox (76%)

Fleer

Yankees (85%)
Orioles (74%)
Tigers (71%)
Brewers (67%)
Red Sox (54%)

Donruss

Orioles (71%)
Tigers (71%)
Brewers (70%)
Yankees (64%)
Red Sox (59%)

1981 - Brewers

2010-11-15T08:09:00.000-06:00

1981 Milwaukee Brewers

The 1980 Brewers were a team on the rise in the AL East. They finished 3rd with 86 wins, and would go to post their first ever postseason appearance the next year. This team was just two years away from making it's first, and only, World Series appearance. The main componants of the 82 squad can be found in 80. 33 different players suited up for the Brewers (18 position players and 15 pitchers). Lets see each of the card companies did in featuring cards of the players. Any players shown with other teams will count in the team % as they are considered checklisted.

Topps

24 Different player cards + "Future Stars" of Ned Yost, Ed Romero, and John Flinn for a total of 27 players. (82%)

Player selection was very good. In fact the player with the most palying time not included was Mark Brouhard with 45 games played.

Fleer

22 Player cards. (67%)

Fleer did a good job, but there is one error card that is important to note. Card 514 is noted as Jerry Augustine but features a photo of Bill Travers. Fleer corrected the card by changing the name, so there are 2 Bill Travers. Again no Brouhard and no Paul Mitchell, who pitched in 17 games.

Donruss

23 players, plus the manager. (70%)

The only ommission was Brouhard.

Good job of player selection by all 3 companies. Donruss did a good job with getting the main players in the set.

Player selection grade: Topps - A; Fleer - A; Donruss - A

Rankings by Team

Topps

Yankees (87%)
Brewers (82%)
Orioles (79%)

Fleer

Yankees (85%)
Orioles (74%)
Brewers (67%)

Donruss

Orioles (71%)
Brewers (70%)
Yankees (64%)

1981 - Baltimore Orioles

2010-11-12T08:00:00.001-06:00

1981 Baltimore Orioles

The defending AL champion Orioles won 100 games in 1980, but that was not good enough to win the division crown. It seemed that it was always the Orioles, Yankees and Red Sox battling for the crown during this time. 34 different players suited up for the Orioles (22 position players and 12 pitchers). Lets see each of the card companies did in featuring cards of the players. Any players shown with other teams will count in the team % as they are considered checklisted.

Topps

23 Different player cards + "Future Stars" of Mike Bodiker, Mark Corey, and Floyd Rayford for a total of 26 players. Also include Dave Skaggs who was sold to the Angels on 5/13 (79%)

Player selection was very good. All 3 of the Rookies saw time with the big club in 80. Of the players not represented in the set, only Lee May and Pat kelly were players that saw significant time with the team that did not have a Topps card. They were both granted Free Agency on 10/23.

Fleer

25 Player cards, with 2 Doug DeCinces and a card of Earl Weaver. Dave Skaggs is not in the set (74%)

Fleer had almost all of the same players as Topps, including Mark Corey. Rayford only played in 8 games, so was probably not photographed. Fleer did have a card of Pat Kelly.

Donruss

24 players, plus the manager, 2 Jim Palmers, and 2 Steve Stones. Again, no Dave Skaggs (71%)

No major ommisions, but they do have a card of Lee May.

Good job of player selection by all 3 companies. Topps does not inclued 2 players who were granted Free Agency after the season, normal if Topps felt they would not sign with anyone.

Player selection grade: Topps - A; Fleer - A; Donruss - A

Rankings by Team

Topps

Yankees (87%)
Orioles (79%)

Fleer

Yankees (85%)
Orioles (74%)

Donruss

Orioles (71%)
Yankees (64%)

Veterans Day

2010-11-11T04:00:00.000-06:00

A Veteran's Day salute to Mickey Lolich. Lolich was a popular Tiger player in during the 70s, partially as a result of his his 3 complete game wins in the 68 series. But there is more to Lolich's career than just those 3 games. Most people do not realize that at the time of his retirement in 1979 he held the record for most career strikeouts by a lefthander. He is now third on the list of lefties, behind Steve Carlton and Randy Johnson.

Lolich enjoyed a solid career in Detroit, as he is stil number 1 on the all time strikeout, shutout, and games started list. He is also number 3 in wins, games pitched, and innings pitched. Those career numbers are part of the reason that he was a fan favorite. When he was traded to the Mets in 1975 for Rusty Staub (who was a favorite of mine) he did not move his family to New York and decided to sit out the second year of his contract to be a free agent after the 77 season. Lolich remained in the Detroit area after retirement and opened a donut shop.

Lolich also served in the Air National Guard during the late 60s, having to meet his guard obligations during the season. In 1967, during the Detroit riots, he was called up to active duty for 15 days during the pennent race to patrol the streets of Detroit. During the 68 season he also had to work playing time around his guard obligations. That seems strange now as players do not have to worry about being drafted into service while playing ball, but that was a common practice during the 60s. Most military posts had baseball teams in the early 60s and if a baseball player was serving in the Army, odds are that he would be on the post baseball team.

Looking back at the career numbers for Lolich I do wonder why he did not seem to get a lot of support for the Hall of Fame. He had a high career strikeout total, but never won a Cy Young award. He did have 2 outstanding seasons (1971, 1972) and of course his one appearance in the World Series. IMO, his series performance is the first thing that you think about when you see his name. This is a case where one big event overshadows a solid career. Do I think he will ever be in the HOF? Reality tells me no, but he is in my personal HOF, along with Bill Freehan.

If you know a vetern make sure you take the time to thank them for their service to their country.

The Topps of Topps - Part 1

2010-11-10T08:51:00.001-06:00

While looking at other blogs this morning I came across on entry on bdj's Topps cards blog about the selection of the Topps 100. In case you have not heard about the Topps 100, Topps selected their 100 best baseball cards from over the past 60 years and asked collectors to vote for their favorite 10 cards. The top 60 vote getters will have cards (or redemtions) in the 2011 Topps sets. Sounds cool. Small problem, some collectors are complaining about the compilation of the list. JB is proposing coming up with his own. I will attempt to do the same. Here it goes:

1. 1952 Andy Pafko (have to include the first card in what is considered the first set)
2. 1952 Mantle (duh)
3. 1953 Jackie Robinson
4. 1952 Willie Mays
5. 1954 Hank Aaron
6. 1954 Ernie Banks
7. 1954 Al Kaline
8. 1956 Roberto Clemente
9. 1956 Sandy Kofax
10. 1954 Ted Williams (card number 1)
11. 1957 Frank Robinson
12. 1959 Bob Gibson
13. 1958 Stan Musual All Star
14. 1961 Billy Williams
15. 1960 Carl Yastremski
16. 1990 Bart Giamanti (Yes I am including a non player card. It was a tribute card. It is my list)
17. 1965 Joe Morgan
18. 1965 Steve Carlton
19. 1962 Al Kaline
20. 1958 World Series Batting Foes
21. 1962 Manger's Dream (Mantle and Banks)
22. 1962 Gaylord Perry
23. 1963 Pete Rose Rookie
24. 1964 Willie Mays
25. 1966 Jim Hunter
26. 1967 Carl Yastremski
27. 1967 Tom Seaver rookie
28. 1968 Nolan Ryan Rookie
29. 1969 Rollie Fingers Rookie
30. 1969 Reggie Jackson
31. 1969 Mickey Mantle - White letter variation
32. 1970 World Series celebration
33. 1956 Milwaukee Braves team card - any of the variations
34. 1971 Thurman Munson
35. 1971 Willie Mays
36. 1972 Billy Martin - In action
37. 1971 Lowell Palmer (If you are not familiar with this card go find an image of it)
38. 1971 Steve Garvey
39. 1973 Mike Schmidt rookie
40. 1974 Dave Winfield
41. 1975 Robin Yount
42. 1975 George Brett
43. 1974 Hank Aaron Home Run King
44. 1976 Johnny Bench
45. 1977 Carlton Fisk
46. 1978 Eddie Murray
47. 1979 Ozzie Smith
48. 1979 Thurman Munson
49. 1973 Luis Alcevedo (I think that is the card. I am going off of memory. It is the one where he is turning a double play in spring training with the cars in the background).
50. 1973 Roberto Clemente
51. 1976 Dennis Eckersly
52. 1977 Bruce Sutter
53. 1978 Rookie Shortstops (Trammell, Molitor, UL Washington)
54. 1998 Alex Rodriguez
55. 1980 Rickey Henderson
56. 1971 Nolan Ryan
57. 1989 Traded Griffey Jr.
58. 1981 Dodgers rookies
59. 1982 Traded Cal Ripken Jr.
60. 1983 Cal Ripken Jr.
61. 1984 Traded Pete Rose
62. 1985 Mark McGwire
63. 1987 Bo Jackson
64. 1987 Barry Bonds
65. 1978 Andre Dawson
66. 1983 Ozzie Smith
67. 1991 Roger Clemens
68. 1992 Cal Ripken Jr.
69. 1990 Frank Thomas
70. 1988 Traded Jim Abbott
71. 2006 Alex Gordon (I will not let this gimmick die).
72. 1991 Cecil Fielder
73. 1986 Pete Rose Highlight
74. 1962 Babe Ruth tribute (pick one. Have to have Ruth in the set).
75. 1976 Brooks Robinson
76. 1987 Will Clark
77. 1984 Don Mattingly
78. 1985 Roger Clemens
79. 1985 Dwight Gooden
80. 1984 Darryl Strawberry
81. 2007 Derek Jeter
82. 1999 Mark McGwire Home Run (I think it card 220. there are 70 variations of the card.)
83. 2002 Hank Aaron greatest moments (I think this is the year it came out.)
84. 1969 Aurelio Rodriguez
85. 1959 Lou Burdette
86. 1964 Casey Stengell
87. 1957 Hank Aaron
88. 1993 Derek Jeter
89. 1994 Ryne Sandberg
90. 1996 Chipper Jones
91. 1992 Brien Taylor
92. 2000 Barry Larkin
93. 2001 Ichiro
94. 2002 Joe Mauer
95. 2003 Hanley Rameriz
96. 1993 Black Gold Frank Thomas
97. 1994 Barry Bonds
98. 1984 Rickey Henderson
99. 1961 Roger Maris
100. 1953 Satchel Paige

This is my initial list. Of course it leans heavy toward Vintage as that is what I think of when I think of iconic cards.

1981 Baseball - Yankees

2010-11-10T08:12:00.000-06:00

1981 New York Yankees

In 1980 39 Different players wore the uniform of the A.L East Division Champion New York Yankees (26 position players and 13 pitchers). Lets see each of the card companies did in featuring cards of the players. Any players shown with other teams will count in the team % as they are considered checklisted.

Topps

29 Different player cards + "Yankees Rookies" of Tim Lollar, Bruce Robinson, and Dennis Werth for a total of 32 players (87%)

Player selection was very good. All 3 of the Rookies saw time with the big club in 80. Of the players not represented in the set, only Paul Blair played the most games (12) of the posisiton players. Blair was singed on May 28 and released on July 1. He would not appear in the majors after his last game of June 20. All of pitchers had cards in the set, with Ed Figueroa as a Ranger and Jim Kaat as a Cardinal the only players not featured in a Yankee uniform, but they were both sold from the Yankees before the All-Star break.

Fleer

31 Player cards, with 2 Reggie Jacksons (85%)

Fleer had all of the same players as Topps with the exception of Bruce Robinson. Kaat and Figueroa are with the Cardinals and Rangers in the Fleer set also.

Donruss

23 players, plus the manager, one coach (Yogi), and 2 additional Reggie Jacksons. Lets see if Donruss missed any major players. (64%)

A big time ommission is Rudy May, the 1980 AL ERA leader. Fred Stanley is listed as a member of the A's, but the Yankee checklist has Larry Milbourne as a Yankee. This is a reflection of 2 offseason aquisitions and is an indication that the Donruss set was finalized at a later date. Stanley was traded for Mike Morgan on 11/3/80 and Milbourne was received in a trade on 11/18/80.

Other players in Topps/Fleer and not Donruss are: Aurelio Rodriguez (52 games), Brian Doyle (34), Johnny Oates (39), Tom Lollar (14), Mike Griffin (13), and Doug Bird (22).

Overall, Donruss gets the worst grade due to the omission of May. I don't know why May was not included as he would pitch until 1983. It must have been beasue they were not able to get a photo of him as he was in future Donruss sets. Topps and Fleer are tied because they have the same basic players. This is to be expceted with this being a) the Yankees, and b) the AL East Champions.

Player selection grade: Topps - A; Fleer - A; Donruss - C

Rankings by Team

Topps

Yankees (87%)

Fleer

Yankees (85%)

Donruss

Yankees (64%)

1980s Baseball - Card Wars Project

2010-11-08T16:12:00.000-06:00

This is an introduction to a project that I am starting to work on: the 80s. This decade comprised my main collecting years. I started collecting in 78 and stopped trying to hand collate sets in 1986, but I kept collecting actively until 1994. A few items to be noted before I get started, this is meant to chronicle a journey through the base sets of the 80s and not an assessment of who "won" the card wars of the 80s. You could argue that Topps won as they are the last company standing, but each of the 3/5 companies had their strengths and weaknesses. Donruss seemed to have some quality control issues (major errors for most of the years until 1992) and Fleer was decent.

First things first, an introduction. I was 9 years old when the 1979 cards came out and I was disappointed when Topps did not have any World Series cards in their set that year, like the previous year. But I collected because I liked baseball, and all of the stars were there. Fast forward to 1980 and again I was disappointed with no WS cards. I was mesmorized by the Pittsburgh teams that year (Pirates and Steelers) and thought for sure that there would be a card celebrating the Pirates title that year. Nope. Looking back I think that Topps moved up the deadline to finalize the checklist and photos starting in 79. This theory is due to a limited amount of airbrushed photos for players that changed teams in the off season. In both 77 and 78 you can try and pinpoint the date the checklist was finalized by looking at the transactions on Baseball Reference. Of course in 77 the expansion teams were included and 78 was another big Free Agent year. Topps got away from that starting in 79.

In 81 I first discovered a new set of cards, Fleer. Later that summer I found my first packs of Donruss. Fleer was more readilly available in my area, but I did not buy a whole lot as Topps was the one set I focused on. I organized my cards by teams during that time and did try and get "master" team sets containing cards from all 3 sets. Some players were in all three sets, and some in only one. Donruss had some crappy looking cards. If you have never seen one, just picture a photo on a 3 x 5 card. Diamond cut. With gum that was impossible to get off of the card. That was Donruss. I belive that Donruss decided to issue a set at almost the last minute and it shows.

There are differences in how cards were marketed that year. Topps branded itself as the Real One as it had been around for years. Fleer offered more cards per pack, and more packs per box as a way to get kids to buy the cards and retailers to stock the cards. Donruss offered more cards per pack also, but did not have the massive distribution channels that Fleer did. Other differences between the brands is that Fleer had complete career stats on the back. Yes, Steve Carlton did pitch in the minors at one time after looking at his Fleer card. Donruss decided to issue multiple cards of the superstars of the time period thinking kids would have a better chance of getting cards of the big names. Donruss backs had career highlights and minimal stats.

Another difference between the companies was in photography. If you notice where photos are taken on Topps cards, most of them were taken in the following locatins: New York, Chicago, and the Bay Area (SF/Oakland). These cities hosted teams in both leagues and gave the photographers living in those cities opportunities to catch teams from both leagues as they traveled thorough town. Spring training photos are also popular in all 3 sets and the teams train close by and you had opportunities to get photos of the prospects. Some of the Topps sets also had quite a few photos from Detroit and Cleveland. The Fleer set that year seems to have quite a few photos from Boston, San Diego. Los Angeles, and Toronto. Donruss has Chicago and Milwaukee as the main backdrops.

I had always considered the set to be a reflection of the prior year and that is the focus on player selection during the team writeups. I will look at the cards on a team by team basis more than a set by set. At the end of each year I will try and come up with a "best" set for each year, but that will be subjective.

First up: 1981.

Rough count of set breakdown, don't take this as gospel.

Topps set is 648 individual players, 26 three player "Future Stars", 26 Team Checklists, 6 checklists, 8 League Leaders, 8 Record Breakers, and 4 Postseason highlights

Fleet set is 618 different players, 16 managers, 14 cheklists, and 12 special cards of players (MVP, SB Leader, etc.)

Donruss is 564 different players, 21 mangers/coaches, 5 checklists, and 15 cards that are repeats of players (Steve Stone, George Brett, Reggie Jackson, etc) or multi-player cars (Brett/Carew)

Both Fleer and Donruss have a boatload of errors. I am not going to take the time to chronicle the errors as that would take a lot of time. An early favorite for best set would be Topps, due to the sheer number of cards in the set. It will be interesting to see what players were left out of which set as we go through this team by team.

Overview is division by division with AL East first, followed by AL West, NL East and NL West.

Sparky

2010-11-04T13:59:00.000-05:00

I just read today that beloved former manager Sparky Anderson has passed away. Link

Sparky was not the first Tiger manger that I remember, that honor goes to Ralph Houk, who also passed away this year, but he was there for the majority of my youth. Sparky came to the team in 1979 because he was available after being fired from the Reds the previous season. He had a burning desire to proved the Reds wrong for firing him and he wanted to field a winner. Detroit had a good team in place when he took over, but the team roster would change before the championship season of 84.

He would say that the 84 season provided the most pressure he had felt as a manager because of the great start of the team. It was said that if he failed to win the pennant the fans would hang him from the center field flag pole.

A lot will be written today and tomorrow about Sparky, the stories he told, his feats, etc. Sit back, read them and enjoy them as most of the funny stories are true. My only wish was that the Tigers would have retired his number 2 years ago during the 84 reunion.

If you want some light reading I recommend finding a copy of his diary of the 1984 season, Bless You Boys. It is a good look at what was happening during the season, the highs and lows.

Tiger Heros - Bill Freehan

2010-11-04T13:46:00.002-05:00

It has been to long since my last card post. Life has just got in the way lately, no other excuse. I have a couple of projects in my mind, but that will require scanning and preparation. Hopefully I can find the time to scan and prepare. This post will deal with one of the best catchers in Tiger history, Bill Freehan.

Bill Freehan was a Michigan native who spent his high school years in Florida. After high school he spent 2 years at the University of Michigan, where he played baseball and football. Made his debut with the club in 1961, his first year in professional ball. Spent the entire 62 season in Denver before coming up to stay in Detroit for the 1963 season. His rookie card is in the 1963 Topps set.

Not known as a great hitter, Bill would hit and even .300 in his first full major leage seaon. That was the first time a Tiger catcher has hit .300 since Mickey Cochrane. He won the Gold Glove award for 5 straight seasons in the 60s and was selected for the All-Star game 10 straight seasons. He set an AL record for being HBP in 1968.

In case anyone is wondering about the identiy of the coach in the background hitting fielding practice it is Wally Moses. I did find it interesting that according to the 1968 roster the four coaches were assinged numbers from 50-53.

Is the Barry Halper Collection Authentic?

2010-08-27T10:28:00.000-05:00

Yes, you read the headline correctly. To understand what I am talking about go here and read the article. Ok, lets think about this for a second.

At one time the Halper collection was considered the most extensive and greatest collection of them all. People drooled over having some of this cool, older stuff. But now the authenticity of some of the items are coming into question. I don't know what to think about all of this. Back when these items were first donated there was little in the way of being able to ascertain the authenticity of uniforms, but now as more people are researching there are questions being raised. I would guess the lesson to be learned is that we should be careful when buying something expensive, making sure we do everything possible to determine authenticity before buying.

Strasburg lands on DL, again

2010-08-25T15:41:00.000-05:00

The news today is that Strasburg is being placed on the DL again, with some talk of potential Tommy John surgery ESPN Link here one is made aware of how fragile pitchers are. We could start a list of young phenoms who had their career shortened due to injury. Guys like Brian Taylor, Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, The "4 Aces", the young group of Met pitchers, to start with. Each of these people were hot commodities in the baseball cards around the time of their debut. Each of them had some problems along the way and never lived up to their hype. When it comes to pitchers one must remember the risk of injury is high and not everyone starts out as an ueber stud and stays on that path. Tom Seaver, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and Greg Maddox come to mind as examples of pitchers that had success early and maintained it for most of their career (I know that Smoltz got hurt, but it was later on). These are the exceptions and not the rule. Heck, Nolan Ryan was full of potential before being traded to the Angels.

Photoshop Disaster?

2010-08-24T16:27:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I received a pleasant surprise in my mailbox. Someone had sent me a gift as a way of saying "Thank You", and it was a wonderful gift. I am now the proud owner of a DVD set of the Essential Games of the Detroit Tigers. I saw this and started thinking about how great it will be to rewatch game 5 of the '84 World Series, or Maggs' homer against Oakland. I am looking forward to the last game at Tiger Stadium as I have never seen the game before.

But upon close inspection of the DVD box I noticed something strange. See if you can spot it.

This is not my scan, but it is the actual package (I promise). Does anything look funny to you? Look closely at the scoreboard and the photoshop that was done to the advertisements. It did not look right to me, so today I did a google search for Tiger Stadium images and found a similar one to compare.

I found this image on a photography blog. Note that the time period is similar based on the dirt path to the pitching mound, the retired numbers and the banners hanging in right field. But all of the advertisements are gone.

I wonder if A & E, who produced the video, did not have permission to use advertising logos. I would have thought that photos from inside the stadium would have been part of mlb properties and could have been resued with permission. The DVD covers for the post season games have photos of the game programs, accurately reproduced.

I will file this under a disaster and a fail.

Sportlots Auction finds - I

2010-08-17T06:00:00.001-05:00

I have been on a Sportlots kick lately. I have found if you are patient you can find some bargains in the auction area. Every once in a while you can find a card that no one else wants and get it for the minimum bid of a quarter. This is what a quarter got me recently.

Kung Fu Fighting

2010-08-16T16:16:00.000-05:00

The next time Mr. Cueto wants to perform some Kung Fu in the middle of a brawl, someone should kidnap him and show him this video.

We should learn from history so others wont repeat our mistakes. Oh, and some people wondered why Roze was in Sparky's doghouse.

One man's junk

2010-08-16T06:50:00.000-05:00

While driving around town yesterday morning looking for a person's house to take food to because their husband died, I noticed a pile of 3-ring binders sitting out by the side of the road for the trash man to pick up today. At first glance there were about 6 boxes full of 3 and 4 inch binders. Just sitting out by the road. Awaiting their final destination in some poor landfill, their purpose in life all used up. I thought to myself, I have to rescue these poor souls. So I did what any card collector, who operates on a budget would do. I drove out there at 4:30 this morning on the way to the gym and took as many of them as I could fit in my minivan. I ended up with about 16 binders total.

Craft Show Finds

2010-08-14T06:12:00.000-05:00

As many of us know in the summer it is festival season, especially in Arkansas. The festivals are usually winding down by August, as it is to hot (it hit 104 yesterday). Well, one of the local towns as an annual Watermelon festival around this time and me and the wife went last night. After some good watermelon (they keep it refrigerated on site) we wandered around looking at the crafts. There was a guy set up with cards at the craft fair. I ended up buying some cards off of him, and paying to much. It has been a while since I went to a show and I needed my fix. This is what I bought.

I found this beaut first off. I had to bring this handsome man home. After buying this I started talking with the vendor and he showed me his other box, the one with the rookies. This is where I should have walked off, but I had to have my fix.

Sparky rookie, Post Norm Cash and Ron Guidry. I am working on the 76 set and could not pass up a rookie of Sparky.

Thoughts from the weekend

2010-08-02T06:56:00.000-05:00

I spent my Saturday in nearby Texarkana shopping with wife. I already knew that any chances of finding cards were somewhere between slim and none with no real card shops in town. So off we went to the mall, etc. Stopped by Books a Million to see if I could find something that I could not live without and saw something that shocked me. I was looking for some reading material int he magazine area and I found a new Beckett, but below the Becketts (on the floor level) some clerk had put Playboys and other "special" editions of Playboys out. That made me feel weird looking at the cover of Beckett to decide to pick it and glace through while be distracted by the cover of the Playboy. I am sure that there is some sort of irony in that picture.

after finding nothing at BAM we went to Target. In the card asle there was basically no new product. Sure there were a couple of rack packs of A & G, but I passed them up. NO newere blasters. Bunch of loose packs. I left there just purchasing some 9 pocket sheets. I guess I should not get my hopes up for my next visit.

Life

2010-07-30T08:59:00.000-05:00

I have not been here in a while due to life in general. My youngest graduated HS and is starting college in the fall. I have been swamped at work. No time to sit back and enjoy life. Fortunately I have been able to keep tabs on others and get some great cards from Stats on the Back, which I will hopefully show off sometime soon.

Oh, and the Tigers can't score a run from 3rd with less than two outs. I seem to have a good memory of this same situation from back in the mid 90s. Oh, well. They are doing the best that they can, and when they stop giving maximum effort is when the fans start to get on them. That's what I want is maximum effort.

That leads me into today's post.

Willie Horton was one of the first stars that I can remember as a kid. I don't remember seeing him play as a Tiger, but I do have memories of people complaining when they traded him away. That made me think he was one of the all-time greats. As the years went by I found out how good he was, and how much me meant to the city of Detroit. I read stories about him hitting a home run over the roof during a High School game. During the riots of 67 Horton went into the neighborhood in his uniform and tried to get the crowd under control. This was a man who grew up in Detroit and took pride in his city, it was his city. These stories make me wonder if that type of civic pride is still around today. How many home grown players are with their teams, and would risk their lives to save their home?

Horton's number is retired. It was retired as much for what he did off of the field as what he did on the field.

Joy of a Completed Set - Oddball Edition

2010-04-30T07:34:00.005-05:00

Part of my purchase from Sportlots was the one card that I needed to finish a sweet oddball set from 84 - the Nestle Dream Team.

From what I can remember these cards came three to a package of 6 Nestle bars. If you either bought enough, or sent in money I don't remember, you could get an uncut sheet of Nestle cards that were identical to the 84 Topps set, except for the logo at the top. I found out later that some collectors had the sheet professionally cut into individual cards. That would make sense as a) there were probably not as many Nestle as there were Topps and b) there was a Don Mattingly rookie in the set.

I thought that it would be cool to get a sheet because I did not have an uncut sheet in my collection and sent off for one. I don't have the sheet anymore, but I now have the complete set of cards. I remember the sheet coming on a rainy day during the 84 Olympics (our mailbox was about a 1/4 from the house) and the mailman left the tube sticking out of the mailbox so part of the sheet got wet. I unrolled the sheet and tried to flatten it out, but I could not do it. I don't remember all of the cards on the sheet, but I do remember that Pete Rose was one of them.

There was also a contest that you were entered into when you ordered a sheet and I received a letter during the winter saying that I had won two tickets to any minor or major league game in 85. I was excited as I had never won anything before. I pulled out the Tiger schedule and noticed that there was a double header scheduled in August around the time of my birthday. That was perfect and I sent in for the tickets. Great seats close to the home team dugout. It was a good day, and I remember seeing on the scoreboard that Carew got his 3,000 hit and Seaver his 300 win that day.

Ok, now on to the final card.

There was one player selected at each position from the AL and NL for this set. Lance Parrish was the selection for AL catcher. He was coming into his own and was considered one of the top catchers in baseball going into 84. He was a gold glove and silver slugger winner, and was selected to the 82 All Star game. The other main candidate in the AL would have been Carlton Fisk, and maybe Bob Boone but my memory is a little faded.

The back shows that Topps had a lot of influence on this set. I don't see the Topps logo on the front or back, but it is clear who helped design this set. This is similar to the 85 Wendy's set where the backs are almost identical to the Topps back from the same year.

The Joy of a Completed Set

2010-04-27T16:04:00.003-05:00

Oh happy day!! The mailman brought my recent purchase from Sportlots over the weekend and I am thrilled. I have now finished the 81 and 83 Donruss sets, 94 Score Rookie/Traded, and need Tony Gwynn for the 83 Fleer set and a checklist for 80 Topps. My next project will be to sort and organize. I have most of the cards in binders from those sets in number order but not team order. I will think of something fun and maybe semi interesting to do later, but on to part one of the important stuff. I completed another oddball set.

I found someone who had for sale 1985 Cains Potato Chip disks a while ago and I could not resist picking up the cards I needed to complete this set. I remember my dad brining home from work a Willie Hernanadez that he got out of a bag he was eating on at work. I never got another card that year, but did get about half of the set in 86. Anyway, I was only down to two cards for the set and they arrived Saturday. Here is the front:

and here is the back of one.

The white background does not show up well on the scan, but you get the idea.

My only problem is storage, they fit tightly in 9 pocket pages, so I will have to get some 8 pocket ones to store these bad boys.

Weekly Update

2010-04-21T08:13:00.002-05:00

Well, the Tigers are back to their old ways. They are leaving to many RISP. Good news is that guys are getting on base, bad news is that the batters are having a hard time knocking them in. The pitching staff is up and down, but maybe Verlander is beginning to turn things around after his solid start Satuday. I hate it that he gave up a run after they worked hard to tie it, but those are the breaks. After two close losses in LA maybe they can start to turn it around and split the series. After leavign LA they go to Texas for 3, and I will have the opportunity to watch on tv. Except I am helping with my sons prom this weekend. No TV = less stress for me.

Card collecting wise I finally finished my 79 set and am working on 77 and 80. With no card shops or shows around here I am resorting to sportlots. Made a huge purchase last week (only spent 20.00, but that was above my monthly limit) and was able to finish off 2 oddball sets, 2 main sets, and come within one card of finishing two others. One day I am going to break down and buy a couple of boxes of 93/94 Score and Fleer and work on finishing those sets.

The strange thing is, I can see me reaching one of my short term goals. That goal is finishing a Topps run of 77-current. I only lack 3 cards for pre 97 Topps, and I will have a nice run with the exception of 97 and 98. There are good prices on boxes for those two years at BBCE, so that may be a purchase in the near future. After I finish my Topps run I will work on Fleer and Donruss.

Gates Brown

2010-04-16T08:19:00.003-05:00

In 1963 a young slugger burst onto the scene in Detroit. In his first major league at bat, he hit a pinch hit home run off of Boston's Bob Hoffner.

Gates was one of Detroit's first home grown black stars, working his way through the minor league system as an outfielder. He had an impressing minor league resume, winning a batting title while at Durham of the Carolina league in 1961. After making an impression with his perfomance in 1963, he would make the parent club out of spring training in 64, and took over the full time left field job in May of that year. A good hitter, he hit 15 home runs in 123 games and batted over .300 as late as July 30.

In 65 he was expected to be a regular int he outfield, as his competition in spring training for the three spots were Willie Horton (a home grown sandlot star from Detroit), who had a total of 40 games of major league experience. Al Kaline, the established superstar. Dom Demeter, a veteran acquired in 64 in the Jim Bunning trade. Demeter had a string of 228 consecutive error less games as an outfielder (he committed two errors as a first basemen) going into 65. Purn Goldy, a 27 year old minor leaguer with a lifetime .231 bating average in 29 career games. Jim Northrup and Mickey Stanley, two young outfielders who appeared in 4 and 5 games respectively with Detroit in 64. George Thomas was the the final main outfielder.

What would happen to "Gator" in 65? He would become the main pinch hitter off of the bench, batting .265 in 37 appearances (he played in a total of 96 games). Pinch hitting would become a role that Gates would know well later in his career.

I never got to see him play as he retried before I started watching baseball. I only remember him as the hitting coach for the 84 World Champions.

Something New

2010-04-14T08:23:00.002-05:00

One day last week I was trolling around the official Tigers website looking for a new wallpaper to put on my desktop @ work and I came across something really awsome. someone is in the process of scanning in media guides. Yes, media guides. They started with 1961 and are in the process of working toward the present.

If you have never seen a media guide they can be a wonderful trove of information. They cover minor league affiliates, career player stats for the players on the active roster heading into spring training, sometimes short bios, and other various items.

I don't know how long they have had these up, or if any of the other teams have started scanning them in. But if anyone with the Tigers is reading I have a couple of notes: there are a few pages missing from 65 and 82 (don't know about the other years) and is there a way to make the file size smaller? It takes a long time to download the PDF while on a high speed connection.

Vintage Card of the Month

2010-04-12T18:29:00.004-05:00

It has been a little while since I posted a VCTM, in fact I slacked off and missed last month. I will try and do better. This month's edition comes courtesy of parts unknown.

Yes, it looks like a regular ole Mike Roarke 1964 Topps card that was loved by some child. But upon closer inspection you will notice something odd. Can't see it, well lets flip the card over.

Ok. The back is black. All other 64 Topps are orange (I think) backed, and the rub off is not visible. What is this?

After years of being stumped I discovered what this was a couple of years ago. Really, I had just thought it was some type of variation of a 64 that I picked up at some card show many years ago. I had no reason not to think it was a variation, as the numbers matched up in the price guides. But something did not seem right so I did some google searching, and I discovered that this is a Venezuelan card. I had only heard of these cards and had never seen one before in person. After making a long journey from Central America he can find a home safe and sound with the rest of his buddies from the 64 Topps set.

2010 Tigers - First week observations

2010-04-12T13:53:00.000-05:00

Detroit seems to be doing well to start the '10 season. But, they have opened against arguably the 2 worst teams in the division. The two wins in Kansas City were of the come from behind variety aginst a bad bullpen, and they won two of three against Cleveland in come from behind fashion. A win is a win, but the bats have to get going against good pitching if this team is going to contend. Here is a quick summary of what I liked about the first week of the season.

Positives:

Willis and Bondo had good efforts in wins. Willis did not get the win, but he kept the team in the game with help from dp balls. He is the 5th starter, and I will take that type of performance from him based on the past two years. Speaking of the last two years, Bondo looked like the Bondo from early 2007 in his game Saturday against Cleveland. I worry about stamina with him as he has not pitched a full season in 3 years. Maybe by slotting him in the last spot in the rotation Leland can give him some extra rest.

Miggy and Maggs are hitting the ball well early. These two guys are carrying the team right now.

Jackson and Sizemore are doing ok.

Negatives:

Verlander's start. Watched part of the game Sunday and he just could not finish the hitters off in the first inning. He would get two strikes on the batter and could not put him away. The announcers said that he started slow last year and turned it around. Hope he can do the same this year.

Batting with RISP and less than two outs. Again, this is a recurring problem for the team. I complained about it in the early part of the decade and still complain about it now. Runner in scoring position and less than two outs, you have got be able to get him home.

Laird's slump. Throw Damon's in there too.

This team is going to have trouble against good pitchers. That much is clear. The hitters that are slumping will come around, but the team can't continue to come from behind most of the time.

2010 Heritage Box break photos

2010-04-12T08:25:00.004-05:00

Sorry for the delay, but due to dial up at home I had to wait until I got to work to upload the images.

2010 Heritage Team

2010-04-10T09:00:00.001-05:00

Lets see what I can make for a team:

2 Catchers - Joe Mauer and Brian McCann.
First Base - Adrian Gonzalez
Second Base - Howie Kendrick
Shortstop - Stephen Drew
Third Base - Scott Rolen
3 Outfielders - Nelson Cruz, Vernon Wells, Adam Jones
Corner Infielder - Aramis Ramirez
Middle Infielder - Troy Tulowitzki
1 Outfielder - B.J. Upton
1 Utility - Ryan Braun - I am using my alloted 1 SP
7 Pitchers - Joakim Soria, Dan Haren, Tim Hudson, Mark Buhrle, John Danks, Aaron Harang, James Shields

Not a bad team at all. A lot of power, but little in the way of speed. ONly 1 closer in the box, and only Haren and Shields are high strikeout pitchers.

2010 Topps Heritage Blaster Box

2010-04-10T08:48:00.002-05:00

And, my entry into the Junkie's Fantasy contest. I had decided that any non-Tigers would be either a) traded or b) submitted as prizes. Anyone wanting to trade non-Tiger for Tiger is welcome to contact me. I will be attempting the Tiger team set. All remaining cards will be submitted as the prize for the winner. Scans will follow when I can get my scanner working again.

Pack 1:

Willy Taveras - OF
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Jason Bartlett, SS
Neil Walker, 3B (Who?)
Luis Durango, SS (Who?)
Craig Stammen, P (Who?)
Josh Thole, P (Who?)
Miguel Tejada, 2002 MVP

Total by Pos:

C - 0
1B - 0
2B - 1
3B - 1
SS - 2
OF - 1
CI -
MI -
Utl -
P - 2

Off to a good start here, but I have no idea who 4 of these players are. Hopefully they will not have to be put on the team.

Pack 2:

Travis Snider - OF
Joe Mauer - C
Derek Jeter - SS
Michael Dunn - P
Dan Haren - P
Whitey Ford - Flashback
Torii Hunter - OF
Dusty Baker - Mgr.

Total by Pos:

C - 1
1B - 0
2B - 1
3B - 1
SS - 3
OF - 3
CI -
MI -
Utl -
P - 4

Who-ho Mauer. Jeter is my favorite Yankee, and Haren is a K artist.

Pack 3:

Adam Jones - OF
Nelson Cruz - OF
Lou Gehrig - Baseball Thrill
Albert Pujols - New Age Performers
Aaron Harang - P
Jeff Francoeur - OF
Nick Swisher - OF
B.J. UPton - OF

Total by Pos:

C - 1
1B - 0
2B - 1
3B - 1
SS - 3
OF - 5
CI -
MI -
Utl -
P - 5

Meh. Looks like a lot of P and OF. Hopefully I get a 1B soon, and another C.

Pack 4:

Chase Headley - OF
James Shields - P
Brett Myers - P
Tyler Colvin - OF
Raul Ibanez - OF
Stephen Drew - SS (Chrome)
Chris Carpenter - P
Jason Bay - OF

Total by Pos:

C - 1
1B - 0
2B - 1
3B - 1
SS - 4
OF - 6
CI -
MI -
Utl -
P - 8

Not bad. I might have to move some people around. LIke the Drew chrome.

Pack 5:

Vernon Wells - OF
Joakim Soria - P
Tim Hudson - P
John Danks - P
Adrian Gonzalez - 1B
Vin Mazzaro - P
Derek Lowe - P
Ryan Braun - All Star

Total by Pos:

C - 1
1B - 1
2B - 1
3B - 1
SS - 4
OF - 7
CI -
MI -
Utl -
P - 13

Finally a closer, so I wont get shutout in saves, and a 1B. All I need is a second C, can Wells catch?

Pack 6:

Skip Schumaker - 2B
Franklin Gutierrez - OF
Aramis Ramirez - 3B
Ross Ohlendorf - P
Clay Buckholz - P
Jon Niese - P
Zach Duke - P
Mark Buehrle - P

Total by Pos:

C - 1
1B - 1
2B - 2
3B - 2
SS - 4
OF - 8
CI -
MI -
Utl -
P - 18

What is it with the pitchers in this box?

Pack 7:

Brian Roberts - 2B
John Russell - Mgr
Gavi Floyd - P
2009 NL ERA Leaders
2009 World Series - Game 4
5th Series Checklist
Brian McCann - C
Tommy Manzella - SS

Total by Pos:

C - 2
1B - 1
2B - 3
3B - 2
SS - 4
OF - 8
CI -
MI -
Utl -
P - 19

Yeah, I can fill out a team.

Pack 8:
Scott Rolen - 3B
Jerry Hairston Jr - IF/OF
Manny RAmierez - OF
Troy Tulowitzki - SS
Magglio Ordonez - OF
Manlle/Gonzo then and now
Jhoulys Chacin - P (Who?)
Akinori Iwamura - 2B

Total by Pos:

C - 2
1B - 1
2B - 3
3B - 3
SS - 5
OF - 10
CI -
MI -
Utl -
P - 20

Ok I am finished. I will put together this awsome team in the next post.

Million Card Giveaway

2010-03-03T16:25:00.003-06:00

I am late in posting this, but when the code redemtions went live I could not wait to redeem my one and only code. I got caught up in the excitement and just had to type in my code on day two of the "contest". What did I get for my troubles, well lets just say it was vintage junk:

I am in the process of trying to trade this thing for a Tiger card, hopefully I can work my way back to a card from the early to mid 70s that I don't have. But, nobody seems to want this guy, even though I remember him as a pretty good player.

Mail Day

2010-03-02T08:20:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was a huge mailday. I had a package from Sportlots, which allowed me to finish one set, come within a card on another, and a huge supply of Cain's disks. I will save those for the future.

I also received an envelope from Detroit. Last week I requested a fan pack. Expecting only a pocket schedule, they sent a small B & W photo of Verlander. The photo would make a great autograph piece. But, I was more than thrilled to receive a pocket sched. Last year Topps baseball cards were used as the photos for the schedule and this year's schedule photo(s) were also influenced by Topps.

This is the one they sent me.

This is the Topps Porcello for comparisons.

The design is very similar. For those that collect these things, I figure that there is a Verlander, Inge, and Miggy. I might just be able to pick another one up next time I am in Michigan.

Baseball is here

2010-02-18T16:02:00.002-06:00

With spring training for Detroit officially starting today (pitchers and catchers report), hope is springing eternal for Tiger fans. Hope that this year will be better than last year. Hope that the best case scenario happens. Hope that this team does not implode. Most every year starts the same, from the late 70s hope that the team will finish above 5th place to the late 90s early 00s that the team will finish above .500. We have hope that our heroes will make us feel proud to be a Tiger fan this summer.

But, around here baseball has already started. The local college has been playing for two weeks and is off to a great start. They are number 4 in the nation in a couple of polls, and if things keep going well we will host a Division II regional again this year.

SAU, and a couple of players were mentioned in the newest Baseball America this week, giving the program some national attention. Mentioned are Haydon Simpson, a local product, who is a Junior who was voted as an All-American last year. Simpson is the 8th ranked prospect in D-II and is a candidate for Pitcher of the Year.

Also getting some pub is second baseman Cannon Lester from nearby El Dorado. Cannon is a senior, and is also a returning All-American.

Here is a link to the press release.

The Joy of a Completed Set - I

2010-02-18T08:27:00.003-06:00

While watching the snow fall last week I was happy to receive multiple packages in the mail. The first one was from a trade of my Factory Set inserts for some 97 and 98 Topps to help get me started on those sets. The second was from Baseball Cards Come to Life, who helped me fill some holes in my sets in exchange for some of my extra 81 Fleer and 92 Pinnacle. There was one card that really made me happy.

Yes, Ron Jones may be nothing but a common to most of you, but to me he was the missing piece in my 89 Score set. After 21 years, and by not buying a single pack, I have managed to complete this set through trades and minimal purchase. I estimate that I spent about $11 - $15 out of pocket to complete this set through individual card purchases, this is about double what the set is "worth" but the enjoyment of the hunt was well worth it.

Winter Watch 2010 - and a Contest

2010-02-10T13:00:00.004-06:00

As we are preparing for snow in the next two days, a whole 2-4 inches are forcast (don't laugh, the town will probably be paralyzed by tomorrow afternoon), I can't help but think about what would better for getting me in the Olympic spirit. Some snow, and of course a contest. I am not running a contest, but JD is here, so feel free to enter.

Theyr'e Here

2010-02-06T08:11:00.002-06:00

Finally, 2010 Topps has made it's way to South Arkansas. This morning while going after dog food at Wal Mart I wandered over to the card isle and there was a display of rack packs, gravity feed boxes, and blasters of Topps daring me to purchase. They also had Upper Deck, but I left those alone at 2.98 per pack. I purchased a rack, and here are the contents. A one pack review.

35 Rick Porcello (Tiger first card of the year)
128 Garrett Mock
277 Jarrod Washburn (2 Tigers in the first 3 cards)
202 SF Giants Franchise History
162 Wade Davis
172 Joe Mauer - AL MVP
261 Matt Carson
300 Chase Utley
198 Florida Marlins Franchise History
288 Boston Red Sox Franchise History
8 AL Batting Leaders
264 Arizona Diamondbacks Franchise HIstory - Gold
MIllion Card Giveaway'
ToppsTown Miguel Tejada
71 Mike Hampton
244 Barry Zito
312 Tyler Flowers
36 Tobi Stoner
219 Kevin Hart
13 Melvin Mora
81 Ryan Theriot
176 Yovani Gallardo
267 Toronto Blue Jays Franchise History
314 Angel Pagan
65 Nick Swisher
10 Clayton Kershaw
167 San Diego Padres Team
Cards Your Mom Threw Out - 86 Tony gwynn
Turkey Red Josh Beckett
Legenday Linage - Mike Schmidt/Evan Longoria
Peek Performance - Reggie Jackson
WTWY - Ricky Nolasco
225 David Price
77 Kenshin Kawakami
123 Jeff Smardzija
297 Ben Zobrist

28 Base Cards

Summary. I like the way these cards look. The photos are great, but I could do without the inserts. The CYMTO is a nice idea, but they probably should have stuck with the retro cards. 86 Gwynn was just a way to get an 86 card in this set, but surely they could have come up with a better example from that year, maybe a Gary Carter or Dale Murphy.

I give this set a B, it would be an A if they would cut out the large number of insets.

Rambling

2010-02-02T11:06:00.001-06:00

In today's Tiger news it looks like Scott Boras is trying to get his client, Johnny Damon, to come to Detroit. Detroit has a good history of dealing with Boras, as they were able to sign Pudge late when nobody else wanted him, and I belive Maggs is also a Boras client with had signability problems when he was a free agent. Management has shown a willingness to pay a little more for a seasoned vet that has a little something left if that is what it takes to get them to Detroit (Pudge, Maggs, Kenny Rodgers). The question is, what does Damon have left and how does he fit into the Tigers plans.

Damon is a left handed hitting centerfielder, who also bats leadoff. As it stands now, Austin jackson could start the season in center and bat leadoff. But I don't know what the backup plan is if Jackson is not ready. By siging Damon they don't have the need to rush Jackson if he is not ready, and they can move Damon to left if Jackson shows he is ready during spring training. As of now the leftfiled posistion will be manned by some combination of Gullen/Clete Thomas/Ryan Rayburn/Don Kelly.

Management is also trying to sign Verlander to a contract extension. All I can say is: get it done. If I have to live off of Little Ceasers for the next 12 months to fund this I will. Crazy Bread is wonderfull.

Sping training is almost here, but our local college starts play Friday. Mulerider fever: Catch it!!!

Set Wants

2010-01-31T13:59:00.009-06:00

All others to complete the sets I am currently working on. Updated 5/24/11

Note: My cards to trade mainly consist of junk wax, with an emphasis on 92 and 93 Fleer Ultra. I do have others from around that time period and a handful of cards from 54-68 that I would be willing to part with.

1968 Topps Game Inserts
2,4,6,8,9,10,12,13,14,15,18,19,21,22,22,24,25,26,28,29,30,31,33

1969 Topps
2,3,4,5,8,9,14,15,16,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,26,27,29,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,43,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,58,60,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,71,72,73,74
,75,77,78,79,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,92,95,96,97,98,99,100,102,103,104,105,106,108,109,110,113,114,115,116,117,119,120,122,124,125,127,128,130,131,134,
135,137,138,139,140,141,142,143,145,146,147,148,149,151,152,154,155,156,158,159,160,161,168,170,171,172,173,174,177,178,179,183,184,185,187,188,189,190,
191,192,193,195,196,198,199,200,201,202,203,204,206,207,208,210,211,212,213,214,215,216,217,218,219,220,221,223,224,225,226,228,229,232,234,235,236,237,
238,239,240,241,242,243,244,245,246,247,248,249,250,251,252,255,256,257,258,259,260,261,262,263,264,265,266,267,268,269,271,272,273,274,275,276,277,278,
279,280,281,282,283,284,286,287,288,289,290,292,293,294,295,296,297,298,299,300,302,303,305,306,307,308,310,312,313,314,315,316,317,318,319,320,321,322,
323,325,326,327,328,329,330,331,332,333,334,336,337,338,341,342,343,345,347,348,349,350,352,353,354,355,356,357,358,359,360,361,362,363,364,365,366,367,
368,369,370,371,372,375,377,380,381,382,384,385,386,389,391,392,394,395,396,397,399,400,401,402,403,404,405,406,407,408,409,411,414,415,416,417,418,420,
421,422,423,424,425,426,427,428,430,432,435,436,437,438,439,440,441,442,444,448,449,450,452,453,454,454,455,457,458,460,461,462,463,464,465,466,467,468,
469,470,471,473,476,478,479,480,481,483,484,485,486,487,489,491,492,493,495,497,498,499,500,501,502,503,504,505,506,508,509,510,511,512,513,514,515,516,
517,518,519,520,521,524,526,527,528,529,531,532,533,535,536,537,538,539,540,541,542,543,545,546,547,548,549,550,551,552,553,555,558,559,560,562,566,567,
568,569,570,571,573,574,575,576,577,578,579,580,581,582,583,585,586,587,588,589,590,592,593,594,595,596,597,598,599,600,601,602,603,604,605,606,607,608,
609,610,611,612,613,614,616,617,618,619,620,621,623,624,625,627,628,629,630,631,632,633,634,635,637,638,639,640,641,642,643,644,645,646,647,648,649,650,
652,654,655,656,657,658,659,660,661,662,664

1970 Topps
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,14,15,16,17,18,19,21,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,31,32,35,36,37,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,48,50,51,53,55,56,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,74,75,
76,77,78,80,81,82,83,85,86,88,90,92,93,94,96,97,99,100,101,102,104,105,106,108,109,110,111,112,113,114,116,117,118,119,120,121,122,123,124,125,126,127,130,
131,132,134,136,137,138,139,140,141,142,143,144,145,146,148,149,150,151,154,155,156,158,159,160,161,162,164,166,167,168,169,170,171,172,173,174,175,176,
179,180,181,182,184,185,186,187,188,189,190,191,192,193,194,195,196,197,198,199,200,203,204,206,209,210,211,212,213,214,215,216,217,218,220,221,223,224,
225,226,227,228,229,230,231,232,233,234,235,236,237,239,240,241,244,245,246,247,248,250,251,254,255,256,257,259,260,261,262,263,264,265,266,268,270,271,
273,275,276,278,280,281,282,285,286,287,288,290,293,294,296,297,298,299,300,301,302,307,308,309,310,311,314,315,317,318,319,320,321,326,327,328,329,330,
331,332,333,334,335,337,340,341,342,343,344,346,347,348,349,350,351,352,353,354,355,357,358,359,360,361,362,363,364,365,366,367,368,369,372,373,374,375,
376,378,379,380,381,382,384,385,386,388,389,390,392,393,394,395,396,400,401,402,403,405,406,407,408,409,410,412,413,414,415,418,419,420,421,423,425,426,
427,428,429,430,431,433,434,435,437,438,439,440,441,442,445,446,447,449,450,451,452,453,454,454,455,458,459,460,461,462,463,464,465,467,468,469,470,471,
473,474,477,478,479,480,482,485,486,487,488,489,490,491,492,493,494,496,497,498,500,502,503,504,505,507,509,511,512,513,514,516,517,518,519,524,525,526,
527,528,529,530,531,533,535,536,537,538,539,540,541,543,545,546,547,548,549,550,551,552,553,555,557,558,559,560,561,562,563,564,565,566,567,568,569,570,
571,572,573,574,575,576,577,578,579,580,581,582,583,584,585,586,587,588,589,590,591,592,593,594,595,596,597,598,599,600,601,602,603,604,605,606,607,608,
609,610,611,612,613,614,615,616,617,618,619,620,621,622,623,624,625,626,627,628,629,630,632,633,634,635,636,637,638,639,640,641,642,643,644,645,646,647,
648,649,650,651,652,653,654,655,656,657,658,659,660,662,663,664,665,666,667,668,669,670,671,672,673,674,675,676,677,678,679,680,681,682,683,684,685,686,
687,688,689,690,691,692,693,694,695,696,697,698,699,700,701,702,703,704,706,707,708,709,710,711,712,713,714,715,716,717,718,719,720

1971 Topps
1,2,4,5,7,9,11,12,13,16,18,20,22,23,24,25,28,31,32,33,34,35,37,40,42,44,45,46,48,49,50,53,55,56,59,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,70,72,73,75,77,79,81,82,83,85,87,89,92,
93,95,96,97,100,102,103,104,105,108,110,111,113,114,117,118,122,124,128,130,132,134,135,137,138,139,140,141,142,144,145,146,147,148,149,150,152,153,155,156,
157,158,160,162,164,165,166,168,169,170,172,173,174,175,176,178,179,180,181,182,183,184,185,186,187,188,189,190,192,193,195,196,197,198,199,200,201,202,203,
204,205,207,209,210,211,212,213,214,216,217,218,219,220,221,222,223,224,226,227,230,231,232,233,234,235,236,237,238,239,240,242,243,244,245,246,248,249,250,
251,252,253,254,255,256,257,258,259,260,261,262,263,265,266,267,268,269,271,272,273,275,277,278,279,280,281,282,283,284,285,286,288,290,291,292,293,294,295,
298,299,300,301,302,303,305,306,307,309,311,313,315,316,317,319,320,322,323,324,325,326,327,328,330,333,334,335,337,338,339,341,342,343,344,345,346,347,348,
350,351,352,353,354,355,357,358,359,360,361,362,363,364,366,369,371,372,374,375,376,377,378,379,380,381,382,383,384,385,388,390,391,392,393,394,395,396,397,
398,399,400,401,402,404,406,407,408,409,410,412,413,414,415,416,417,419,420,422,424,425,426,427,429,430,431,432,433,435,436,437,438,439,440,441,442,443,444,
445,447,448,449,450,451,453,454,454,455,456,457,458,459,460,461,462,463,464,465,466,467,468,469,470,471,472,473,474,475,476,477,478,479,480,481,483,485,486,
487,488,490,491,492,494,495,496,497,498,499,500,502,504,505,506,507,508,509,510,511,512,513,514,515,516,517,518,520,521,522,523,524,525,526,527,528,529,530,531,
532,533,534,535,536,537,538,539,540,541,542,543,544,545,546,547,548,549,550,551,552,554,555,556,557,558,559,560,561,562,563,564,565,566,567,568,569,570,571,572,
573,574,575,576,577,578,579,580,581,582,583,584,585,586,587,588,589,590,591,592,593,594,595,596,597,598,599,600,601,602,603,604,605,606,607,608,609,610,611,612,
613,614,615,616,617,618,619,620,621,622,623,624,625,626,627,628,630,631,632,633,634,635,636,637,638,639,640,641,642,643,644,645,646,647,648,649,650,651,652,653,
654,655,656,657,658,659,660,661,662,663,664,665,666,667,668,669,670,671,672,673,674,675,676,677,678,679,680,681,682,683,684,685,686,687,688,689,690,691,692,693,
694,695,696,697,698,699,700,701,702,703,704,705,706,707,708,709,710,711,712,713,714,715,716,717,718,719,720,721,722,723,724,725,726,727,728,729,730,731,732,733,
734,735,736,737,738,739,740,741,742,743,744,745,746,747,748,750,751,752

1972 Topps
1,3,5,7,8,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,26,28,29,30,31,32,33,36,37,38,39,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,52,53,54,56,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,
75,77,79,80,81,82,84,85,86,87,89,93,94,100,101,102,104,105,106,107,108,111,112,114,115,117,118,122,124,127,128,129,130,131,132,135,136,137,138,139,140,142,143,145,
146,147,148,151,152,153,154,155,156,157,158,159,160,161,162,163,165,166,167,168,169,170,172,174,177,178,179,180,182,183,184,185,186,187,188,189,190,191,192,193,194,
196,197,198,199,200,201,202,204,205,206,207,208,209,210,212,213,215,217,218,219,223,226,231,232,233,234,235,236,237,238,241,242,243,244,245,246,247,248,249,250,
251,252,253,254,255,256,258,259,261,264,265,266,267,268,269,271,272,273,274,275,276,277,278,280,281,282,283,287,288,289,290,291,292,293,294,295,296,297,298,
299,300,301,302,303,304,305,306,307,308,309,310,311,312,313,314,316,317,320,321,323,324,325,326,327,328,329,330,331,332,333,334,335,336,338,339,340,341,342,343,344,
345,346,347,348,349,350,351,353,354,355,356,357,358,359,360,361,362,363,364,365,366,370,372,373,374,375,376,377,379,380,381,382,383,384,385,386,387,388,389,390,391,
392,393,394,395,396,397,399,401,402,403,404,405,406,407,408,410,411,412,415,416,418,419,420,421,422,424,425,426,427,428,429,430,431,432,433,434,435,436,437,438,439,
440,441,442,443,444,445,447,448,449,451,452,453,454,454,456,457,458,459,461,462,463,464,465,466,467,468,470,471,472,473,474,475,476,477,478,479,480,481,482,483,
484,485,486,488,489,490,491,492,493,495,496,497,498,499,500,502,503,504,505,506,507,508,509,510,512,513,514,516,517,518,520,521,522,524,526,527,528,529,530,531,532,
533,534,535,536,537,538,539,540,541,543,544,545,546,547,548,549,550,551,552,553,554,555,556,557,559,560,561,562,563,564,565,566,567,568,571,572,573,574,575,
576,578,579,580,581,582,583,584,585,586,587,588,589,590,591,592,594,595,596,597,598,599,601,602,603,604,605,606,607,608,609,610,612,613,614,615,616,617,618,619,620,
621,622,623,624,625,626,627,628,629,630,631,632,633,634,636,637,638,639,640,641,642,643,644,645,646,647,648,649,650,651,652,653,654,655,656,657,658,659,660,661,662,
663,664,665,666,667,668,669,670,671,672,673,674,675,676,677,678,679,680,681,682,683,684,685,686,687,688,689,690,691,692,693,694,695,696,697,698,699,700,701,702,703,
704,705,706,707,708,709,710,711,712,713,714,715,716,717,718,719,720,721,722,723,724,726,727,728,729,730,731,732,733,734,735,736,737,738,739,740,741,742,743,744,745,
746,747,748,749,750,751,752,753,754,755,756,757,757,758,759,760,761,762,763,764,765,766,767,768,769,770,771,772,773,774,775,776,777,778,779,780,781,782,784,785,786,
787

1973 Topps
1,7,8,10,12,15,17,18,19,21,22,23,25,30,31,32,34,35,36,39,40,42,44,46,47,48,49,50,53,54,55,59,62,63,64,65,67,68,69,70,71,75,80,81,83,84,85,90,94,96,97,105,108,115,116,119,
125,128,130,132,133,134,135,136,137,138,139,140,141,142,143,144,145,147,148,149,150,151,152,154,155,156,157,158,160,161,163,165,166,167,170,171,172,174,175,176,177,
179,180,181,182,183,184,185,186,188,189,190,192,193,194,195,196,197,198,199,200,202,203,204,205,206,207,208,209,210,213,214,215,216,217,220,221,223,224,225,227,
229,230,231,232,234,235,236,237,238,239,240,241,243,245,246,247,248,249,250,252,253,255,257,258,259,260,261,263,265,266,268,269,270,271,272,273,274,275,276,277,278,
279,283,284,285,286,287,288,289,290,291,292,293,294,295,296,297,299,300,302,303,305,306,307,308,309,310,311,313,314,315,316,317,318,319,320,321,322,324,325,326,327,
328,329,330,331,332,333,334,335,336,337,338,339,341,342,343,344,345,346,347,348,350,351,354,355,356,357,358,359,360,361,362,363,364,365,366,367,368,370,371,372,373,
374,376,377,378,379,380,381,382,384,385,386,387,388,389,391,392,393,394,396,398,399,400,401,402,403,404,405,406,407,408,410,411,412,415,416,417,418,419,420,421,422,
423,424,425,426,427,428,429,430,431,432,434,435,436,437,438,439,440,443,444,445,446,447,449,450,451,453,454,454,455,456,457,458,462,463,464,465,467,468,469,470,471,
472,473,474,476,477,478,479,480,481,482,483,484,486,487,488,489,490,491,492,493,494,495,496,498,499,500,501,502,503,504,506,509,511,512,513,514,515,517,518,519,520,
521,522,523,524,525,526,527,528,529,530,531,532,533,534,535,536,538,539,540,541,542,543,544,545,546,547,548,549,550,551,552,553,554,555,556,557,558,559,561,562,563,
564,565,566,567,568,569,570,571,572,573,574,575,576,577,578,579,580,581,582,583,584,585,586,587,588,589,590,591,592,593,594,595,596,597,598,599,600,601,602,603,604,
605,606,607,608,609,610,611,612,613,614,615,616,617,618,619,620,621,622,623,624,625,626,627,628,629,630,631,632,634,635,636,637,638,639,640,641,642,643,644,645,646,
647,648,649,650,651,652,653,654,655,656,657,658,659

1974 Topps
1,2,3,4,6,8,10,18,20,27,30,31,35,36,40,42,43,50,66,74,75,76,78,80,83,85,86,87,91,93,95,100,103,105,110,112,113,114,116,120,126,129,130,144,154,160,165,167,169,175,176,181,
188,189,190,198,201,202,203,205,206,207,212,216,219,220,224,225,228,229,236,246,250,252,260,263,264,265,273,274,278,279,280,283,285,287,288,289,290,298,299,300,301,
304,310,315,331,332,336,338,340,341,342,348,350,351,361,362,368,369,370,377,378,380,382,384,385,388,392,395,400,403,408,410,411,420,426,427,428,434,438,451,456,457,
461,464,465,470,472,481,488,490,491,494,495,498,499,504,505,507,521,522,524,526,532,533,534,537,538,541,542,543,547,551,552,554,556,559,561,568,570,571,581,587,590,
592,596,599,602,609,610,614,617,619,621,622,624,625,632,633,635,641,642,643,646,647,650,653,654,657,658,660

1975 Topps
1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56
57,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106
107,108,110,111,113,114,115,117,118,119,120,121,122,123,124,125,126,127,128,129,130,131,132,133,134,135,136,137,138,139,140,141,142,143,144,145,
146,147,148,149,150,151,152,153,154,155,156,157,158,159,160,161,162,163,164,165,167,168,169,170,171,172,173,174,175,176,177,178,179,180,182,183,
184,185,186,187,189,190,191,192,193,194,195,196,197,198,199,200,201,202,203,204,205,206,207,208,209,210,211,212,213,214,215,217,218,219,220,221,
222,223,224,225,226,227,228,229,230,231,232,233,234,235,236,237,238,239,240,241,242,243,244,246,247,248,249,250,251,252,253,254,255,256,257,258,
259,260,261,262,263,264,265,266,268,269,272,273,274,275,276,277,278,279,280,281,282,283,284,285,286,287,288,289,290,291,294,295,296,297,298,299,
300,301,302,303,304,305,306,307,308,309,310,311,312,313,314,315,316,317,318,319,320,321,322,324,325,326,327,328,329,330,331,332,333,334,335,336,
337,338,339,340,341,342,343,345,346,347,348,349,350,351,353,354,355,356,357,358,359,360,361,362,363,364,365,366,367,368,369,370,371,372,373,374,
375,376,377,378,379,380,381,382,383,384,385,386,387,388,389,390,391,392,393,394,395,396,397,398,399,400,401,402,403,404,406,407,408,410,411,412,
413,414,415,416,417,418,419,420,421,422,423,424,425,426,427,428,429,430,431,432,433,434,435,436,437,438,440,441,442,443,444,445,446,447,448,449,
450,451,452,453,454,455,456,457,458,459,460,461,462,463,464,465,466,467,468,469,470,471,472,473,475,476,477,478,479,480,481,482,483,484,485,486,
487,488,489,490,491,492,493,494,495,498,499,500,501,502,503,504,505,506,507,508,509,510,511,512,513,514,515,516,517,518,519,520,521,523,524,525,
526,527,528,529,530,531,532,533,534,535,536,537,538,539,540,541,542,543,545,547,548,549,550,551,552,553,554,555,556,557,558,559,560,561,562,563,
564,565,566,567,569,570,571,572,573,574,575,576,577,578,579,580,581,582,583,584,585,586,587,588,589,590,591,592,594,595,596,597,598,600,601,602,
603,604,605,606,607,608,609,610,611,612,613,614,615,616,618,619,620,621,622,623,624,625,626,627,629,630,631,632,634,635,636,637,638,639,640,641,
642,643,644,645,646,647,648,649,650,651,652,653,654,655,656,657,658,659,660

1976 Topps
1,2,4,5,6,8,10,11,12,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,22,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,36,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,60,62,63
64,65,66,68,69,71,72,73,75,78,79,80,82,83,84,85,88,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109,110,111,112,114,116,117,118,
119,121,122,123,124,125,126,127,128,130,131,132,133,134,135,136,137,139,140,141,142,143,144,145,147,148,149,150,151,152,153,154,155,156,157,158,159,
161,163,164,165,166,167,168,169,170,171,172,173,174,175,177,178,179,180,181,183,184,185,187,188,189,190,191,192,193,194,195,196,197,198,199,200,
201,202,203,204,205,206,208,209,210,212,213,214,215,217,220,221,222,223,224,225,226,227,229,230,231,232,233,234,235,236,237,238,239,240,241,244,245,
246,247,248,249,250,251,252,253,255,256,257,258,259,261,262,263,264,265,266,268,269,270,271,272,273,274,275,276,277,278,279,280,281,283,284,285,286,
287,288,290,291,293,294,296,298,299,300,302,303,306,307,308,309,310,311,312,313,314,315,316,317,318,319,321,322,323,324,325,326,328,330,331,332,333,
336,338,339,340,341,342,343,344,345,346,347,348,349,350,351,352,353,355,356,357,358,359,360,363,364,365,366,367,368,369,370,371,372,373,375,376,377,
378,379,380,381,382,383,384,386,387,388,389,390,391,392,393,394,395,396,397,398,399,400,401,402,403,404,407,408,410,411,412,413,414,415,417,418,419,
420,421,422,423,425,427,428,429,430,431,433,434,435,436,437,438,439,440,441,443,444,445,446,447,448,449,450,452,453,455,457,458,459,460,461,462,463,
464,466,467,468,469,471,472,473,474,475,476,477,478,479,480,484,485,487,488,489,490,491,492,493,495,496,497,499,500,501,504,505,508,510,511,512,513,
514,516,518,519,520,521,523,525,526,527,529,530,531,532,533,534,535,537,538,539,541,542,543,544,545,546,547,548,549,550,551,555,556,557,558,559,561,
562,564,565,567,568,569,570,571,572,573,574,575,576,577,578,579,580,581,582,583,584,585,586,587,589,590,592,593,594,595,596,597,598,600,601,603,604,
606,608,609,611,613,615,616,617,618,619,620,621,623,624,625,626,627,628,629,630,631,632,633,634,635,636,639,641,642,643,644,645,646,648,649,650,651,
652,654,655,656,657,658,659,660

1997 Topps
1,5,11,13,16,20,21,23,25,27,28,29,34,36,37,41,48,49,50,51,52,54,56,57,59,63,65,66,69,70,71,72,73,74,76,78,79,80,81,82,84,86,87,91,94,95,96,98,100,101,105,109,
112,114,115,117,121,123,126,128,129,130,131,138,139,145,146,147,149,151,152,153,154,156,159,160,161,164,169,170,172,173,175,176,177,178,181,182,186,187,
188,189,190,192,195,197,200,203,210,211,213,214,215,216,218,221,224,227,229,241,242,243,244,245,246,248,252,253,254,256,258,260,261,262,265,266,268,271,
273,277,282,290,293,300,304,309,316,318,340,342,379,380,381,388,395,400,408,420,424,433,436,441,455,461,463,464,465,475,477,481,487,488,495,496

1998 Topps
1,3,4,5,6,9,10,11,12,15,18,20,21,24,25,26,30,31,33,34,35,37,39,42,43,44,45,46,47,57,58,59,60,62,70,75,81,85,86,87,89,93,96,99,100,101,105,107,109,110,111,116,
117,119,125,126,136,138,139,140,141,143,145,146,150,152,153,157,160,161,165,166,167,168,176,179,181,188,189,191,193,196,197,198,199,200,202,208,211,215,
225,227,230,232,233,234,236,242,243,245,246,247,249,250,251,253,256,257,258,265,266,267,268,269,270,271,274,281,282,283,284,287,294,301,302,305,307,313,
317,319,320,321,323,326,334,335,340,344,366,368,370,373,391,403,406,407,411,426,428,437,446,449,450,457,460,470,471,475,477,478,492,494,495,504

1991 Stadium Club
14,28,30,69,77,92,149,210,236,279

1992 Stadium Club
50,67,68,80,126,150,180,188,196,206,227,310,327,330,342,344,346,347,351,355,364,366,368,372,373,377,379,382,383,387,388,399,400,403,404,406,410,413,414,415,
421,425,433,436,439,440,442,443,459,460,474,475,477,479,480,483,484,490,495,496,497,500,501,502,505,507,511,516,528,529,546,554,555,562,573,579,582,586,592,
595,597,628,636,649,654,657,692,700,702,712,718,721,722,724,728,730,732,734,738,740,770,777,852

1993 Stadium Club
54,57,65,68,71,108,121,126,128,149,174,227,241,271,285,286,309,313,314,316,318,321,323,326,331,339,340,342,343,347,353,360,361,363,365,366,371,375,381,385,
392,394,396,406,417,426,432,439,440,444,450,460,463,464,469,471,472,484,494,516,519,527,528,531,534,537,538,562,566,577,580,585,586,596,608,621,747

1994 Stadium Club
2,4,8,11,12,13,14,21,24,26,27,33,34,38,42,43,46,49,50,51,59,61,64,65,68,71,75,77,78,79,81,85,92,96,97,102,103,105,108,117,120,130,131,133,137,146,147,154,155,
156,159,161,167,169,173,175,185,189,190,193,196,199,201,203,208,214,215,217,218,222,224,225,233,234,241,242,249,252,255,256,259,261,266,267,269,270,278,
279,280,281,289,290,295,300,313,331,335,340,360,363,364,369,374,375,390,393,395,399,402,406,407,410,411,412,413,416,420,421,422,425,428,429,430,438,,440,
441,446,451,452,453,455,458,459,465,467,469,471,472,473,477,484,488,489,500,517,520,521,523,526,530,532,536,538,588,636

1992 Donruss Rookies
30,31,34,36,37,38,40,42,43,44,48,49,50,54,55,69,70,75,76,82,87,92,93,94,98,99,104,105,111,132

1993 Donruss
421,430,448,455,478,502,535,559,570,596,635,636,669,674,675,680,712,735,740,741,755,763,769,770,781,785,786,792

1994 Donruss
339,376,382,392,400,402,437,465,497,590,623

1983 Fleer
360

1985 Fleer
155,533,550

1993 Fleer
27,36,313,345,349,351,368,370,372,389,398,402,404,406,408,416,419,423,430,432,450,462,464,466,468,477,479,482,484,490,491,492,500,506,508,509,510,519,527,528,
534,539,543,544,550,552,568,569,570,575,582,584,588,591,596,599,604,605,606,610,618,628,630,644,648,659,662,664,670,672,686,688,690,699,704,706,708,710,716,717

1994 Fleer
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,
56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105
106,107,108,109,110,111,112,113,114,115,116,117,118,119,120,121,122,123,124,125,126,127,128,130,131,133,134,135,136,137,138,139,140,141,142,144
145,147,148,149,150,151,152,153,154,155,156,157,158,159,160,161,162,163,164,165,166,167,168,169,170,171,172,173,174,175,176,177,178,179,180,181,182
183,184,185,186,187,189,190,191,192,193,194,195,196,197,198,199,200,201,202,203,204,205,206,207,208,209,210,211,212,213,214,215,216,217,218,219
220,221,222,223,224,225,226,227,228,229,230,231,232,233,234,235,236,237,238,239,240,241,242,243,244,245,246,247,248,249,250,251,252,253,254,255,256
257,258,260,261,262,263,264,265,266,267,268,270,271,272,273,274,275,276,277,278,279,280,281,282,283,284,285,286,287,288,289,290,291,292,293,294,295
296,297,298,299,300,301,302,303,304,305,306,307,308,309,310,311,312,313,314,315,316,317,318,319,320,321,322,323,324,325,326,327,328,329,330,331,332
333,334,335,336,337,338,339,340,341,342,343,344,345,346,347,348,349,350,351,352,353,354,355,356,357,358,359,360,361,362,363,364,365,366,367,368,369
370,371,372,373,374,375,376,377,378,379,380,381,382,383,384,385,386,387,388,389,390,391,392,393,394,395,396,397,398,399,400,401,402,403,404,405,406
407,408,409,410,411,412,413,414,415,416,417,418,419,420,421,422,423,424,425,426,427,428,429,430,431,432,433,434,435,436,437,438,439,440,441,442,443
444,445,446,447,448,449,450,451,452,453,454,455,456,457,458,459,460,461,462,463,464,465,466,467,468,469,470,471,472,,473,474,475,476,477,478,479,480
481,482,483,484,485,486,487,488,489,490,491,492,493,494,495,496,497,498,499,500,501,502,503,504,505,506,507,508,509,510,511,512,513,514,515,516,517
518,519,520,521,522,523,524,525,526,527,528,529,530,531,532,533,534,535,536,537,538,539,540,541,542,543,544,545,546,547,548,549,550,551,552,553,554
555,556,557,558,559,560,561,562,563,564,565,566,567,568,569,570,571,572,573,574,575,576,577,578,579,580,581,582,583,584,585,586,587,588,589,590,591
592,593,594,595,596,597,598,599,600,601,602,603,604,605,606,607,608,609,610,611,612,613,614,615,616,617,618,619,620,621622,623,624,625,626,627,628
629,630,631,632,633,634,635,636,637,638,639,640,641,642,643,644,645,646,647,648,649,650,651,652,653,654,655,656,657,658,659,660,661,662,663,664,665,
666,667,668,669,670,671,672,673,674,675,676,677,678,679,680,681,682,683,684,685,686,687,688,689,690,691,692,693,694,695,696,697,698,699,700,701,702
703,704,705,706,707,708,709,710,711,712,713,714,715,716,717,718,719,720

1992 Leaf
1,16,19,67,72,75,100,112,115,120,121,126,139,140,145,160,167,197,253,265,267,279,285,290,299,303,313,315,321,349,365,412,455

1993 Leaf
400

1993 Pinnacle
311,312,313,314,315,317,318,319,320,321,322,323,326,328,329,330,331,332,334,335,336,337,338,339,340,341,342,343,345,346,348,349,350,351,352,354,
355,357,358,359,360,361,362,363,365,366,370,372,374,375,377,378,380,382,383,385,386,388,389,390,391,392,393,394,395,396,397,398,400,402,403,404,405,
406,407,408,409,410,411,412,412,414,415,416,417,420,421,422,423,424,425,426,427,428,429,430,431,432,433,435,436,437,438,439,440,441,444,445,446,
447,448,449,450,455,456,457,458,459,460,463,464,465,466,467,468,469,470,471,472,473,474,475,476,477,479,480,481,483,484,485,486,487,488,489,491,492,
494,495,496,497,498,499,500,501,502,503,504,505,506,507,510,512,513,514,517,518,519,522,523,524,525,526,527,530,531,532,533,534,536,537,538,539,540,
541,542,543,544,545,546,547,548,549,550,551,552,553,554,555,556,557,558,559,560,561,562,564,565,566,569,570,571,572,573,574,577,578,579,580,581,583,
584,585,586,587,588,589,590,591,593,594,595,596,597,599,600,601,602,603,605,607,608,609,610,611,612,613,614,615,616,617,618,619,620

1991 Bowman
7,11,21,22,25,43,52,75,80,82,83,84,86,92,93,100,104,106,116,122,128,130,132,140,145,146,157,159,162,163,165,172,177,182,190,194,198,203,204,209,212,213,
217,222,229,237,239,240,241,243,248,250,251,252,254,255,256,258,259,260,264,265,270,271,273,276,279,282,283,284,289,300,306,307,309,316,322,328,344,
350,353,361,362,371,379,390,392,399,401,405,411,412,414,416,420,422,428,430,434,437,439,441,447,453,457,461,474,484,492,494,497,498,505,510,517,531,
538,540,541,548,561,563,567,570,573,574,577,579,580,582,587,588,592,594,598,599,602,603,605,606,610,613,615,620,624,625,629,631,634,636,639,640,641,
642,648,650,651,657,667,668,671,676,679,681,684,690,694,699

1993 Score
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56
57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106
107,108,109,110,111,112,113,114,115,116,117,118,119,120,121,122,123,124,125,126,127,128,129,130,131,132,133,134,135,136,137,138,139,140,141,142,143,
144,145,146,147,148,149,150,151,152,153,154,155,156,157,158,159,160,161,162,163,164,165,166,167,168,169,170,171,172,173,174,175,176,177,178,179,180,
181,182,183,184,185,186,187,188,189,190,191,192,193,194,195,196,197,198,199,200,201,202,203,204,205,206,207,208,209,210,211,212,213,214,215,216,217,
218,219,220,221,222,223,224,225,226,227,228,229,230,231,232,233,234,235,236,237,238,239,240,241,242,243,244,245,246,247,248,249,250,251,252,253,254,
255,256,257,258,259,260,261,262,263,265,266,267,268,269,270,271,272,273,274,275,276,277,278,279,280,281,282,283,284,285,286,287,288,289,290,291,292,
293,294,295,296,297,298,299,300,301,302,303,304,305,306,307,308,309,310,311,312,313,314,315,316,317,318,319,320,321,322,323,324,325,326,327,328,329,
330,331,332,333,334,335,336,337,338,339,340,341,342,343,344,345,346,347,348,349,350,351,352,353,354,355,356,357,358,359,360,361,362,363,364,365,366,
367,368,369,370,371,372,373,374,375,376,377,378,379,380,381,382,383,384,385,386,387,388,389,390,391,392,393,394,395,396,397,398,399,400,401,402,403,
404,407,408,409,410,411,412,414,415,416,417,418,419,420,421,422,423,424,425,426,427,428,429,430,431,432,433,434,435,436,437,438,439,440,441,442,443,
444,445,446,447,448,449,450,451,452,453,454,455,456,457,458,459,460,461,462,463,464,465,466,467,468,469,470,471,472,473,474,475,477,478,479,480,481,
482,483,484,485,486,487,488,489,490,491,492,493,494,495,496,497,498,499,500,501,502,503,504,505,506,507,508,509,510,511,512,513,514,515,516,517,518,
519,520,521,522,523,524,525,526,527,528,529,530,531,532,533,534,535,536,537,538,539,540,541,542,543,544,545,546,547,548,549,550,551,552,553,554,555,
556,557,558,559,560,561,562,563,564,565,566,567,568,569,570,571,572,573,574,575,576,577,578,579,580,581,582,583,584,585,586,587,588,589,590,591,592,
593,594,595,596,597,598,599,600,601,602,603,604,605,606,607,608,609,610,611,612,613,614,615,616,617,618,619,620,621,623,624,625,626,627,628,629,630,
631,632,633,634,635,636,637,638,639,640,641,642,643,644,645,646,648,649,650,651,652,653,654,655,656,657,658,659,660

1994 Score
3,12,21,25,26,28,30,31,33,35,36,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,66,67,68,69,74,85,86,102,109,110,232,260,270,301,
307,324,341,342,376,384,396,404,407,413,418,422,427,429,441,447,476,483,484,500,501,503,505,507,508,509,511,512,513,515,516,517,518,519,521,522,523,
524,525,527,528,529,533,534,537,539,540,542,544,546,548,551,553,555,556,557,560,561,562,563,565,566,567,572,573,574,575,576,581,582,583,585,587,590,
591,593,594,596,602,603,604,606,607,608,609,613,614,615,616,617,618,619,622,623,624,625,626,627,628,630,631,632,633,634,638,639,643,645,648,649,650,
652,653,654,655,656,658

1995 Score
1,12,23,24,31,35,46,47,49,59,70,77,185,188,191,199,205,210,211,220,221,222,229,238,243,253,267,268,274,284

Detroit Tiger Wants

2010-01-31T13:57:00.006-06:00

Updated 5/24/11

1952 Topps
25,39,86,103,104,126,146,181,192,208,222,230,234,238,244,246,262,275,296,354,370

1953 Topps
72,99,113,121,163,165,228,239,277

1954 Topps
44,63,65,88,131,163,167,190,193,197,201,219,224,238,241

1955 Topps
4,9,11,87,87,94,138,192

1956 Topps
6,20,57,84,92,117,126,147,155,189,191,203,207,213,263,310,317,318,334

1957 Topps
19,33,60,72,77,88,102,125,149,168,198,205,238,248,258,282,297,307,325,338,357,379

1958 Topps
13,32,46,57,70,81,95,112,115,154,185,206,213,245,262,271,282,304,309,319,337,345,365,380,389,397,434,448,463

1959 Topps
2,24,34,52,70,96,132,149,189,203,233,256,268,331,343,360,378,409,421,442,455,463,511,524,545,562

1960 Topps
6,22,33,50,85,118,152,161,186,261,273,286,301,314,364,379,396,418,429,443,461,482,488,502,531,546,561

1961 Topps
14,37,44,48,50,51,83,95,112,151,163,184,192,208,223,243,251,269,284,330,376,413,429,439,459,490,514,544,553,580

1962 Topps
20,57,59,105,114,150,196,250,261,335,349,366,407,416,427,438,460,466,470,472,474,481,506,527,554,583,591

1963 Topps
4,6,8,10,25,44,64,84,140,164,169,218,224,240,257,299,302,327,348,365,379,406,407,437,445,453,466,475,494,516,530,552,558,573

1964 Topps
6,8,39,67,128,181,250,292,331,335,387,407,425,443,461,471,474,489,491,512,535,572

1965 Topps
9,130,236,259,271,288,408,429,454,471,483,493,522,547,563,576,587,593

1966 Topps
81,98,187,253,315,337,410,455,472,495,527,540,554,569,583,597

1967 Topps
48,72,134,170,192,216,235,237,263,284,305,352,378,394,408,420,449,465,482,511,526,540,559,571,588,607

1968 Topps
2,22,40,58,160,201,307,360,375,414,528,544

Card of Month

2010-01-31T13:40:00.003-06:00

While waiting on 2010 Topps to hit the local retail stores, they had discounted blasters of 2009 Topps but no 2010 product, I decided to start a card of the month. The first COTM is going to be of a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, and the oldest one that I own. I could even make an argument that it is the most unique, but that will be saved for another day.

Growing up I usually ate Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops, or some other Kellogs cereal for breakfast during the baseball season for one main reason: they contained baseball cards. Cool looking 3-D cards. But they were not the first "premium" baseball card to be included with cereal. Back in the 1930s, probably in an effort to entice more kids to eat a healthy breakfast, Wheaties started putting baseball cards on their boxes. Of course kids would cut the cards off using anything they had, and they might even have had a hard time cutting straight, but still they would cut the cards of. Heck, I even had trouble cutting in a straight line when chopping up Ho-Ho's to get that Dave Kingman and Dan Meyer in my collection.

Here is Hank Greenberg in all of his glory, circa 1936. Detroit was coming off of their first every World Championship, beating the Cubs in the '35 Series. Greenberg was one of the most popular Tigers at the time, and would have been a prize for any kid to get one their box. I can imagine some 8 year old kid in Detroit looking at the back of boxes trying to find this one card.

The real story is how I came across this card. My parents were at an estate sale in rural Michigan about 4 years ago and saw a box of old magazines for sale. They bought it and found this card, along with two others inside.

Random

2010-01-30T07:39:00.002-06:00

Last night I braved the elements and went to my local Target, with local being an hours drive away. I had to get some things in the area and went to Target because I had to. Looking over their shelves there is no 2010 Topps located anywhere. Empty gravity feed boxes of Update and Highlights, a blaster of Heritage High Numbers, a couple of Goodwin Champions packs, but no new product. I know that the Wal-Mart down the street from my house won't get them for a couple of weeks, so I hoped that Target would have at least one pack that I can open and see first hand what the cards looked like. Just one pack, that will satisfy my wants. Oh well, maybe it just takes a while for the product to make to the nether reaches of South Arkansas.

Ramblings

2010-01-29T13:16:00.001-06:00

My, it has been to long since I updated this blog. I originally intended it to be a place to jot down thought, unwind from the day, and all sorts of stuff. I planned on having photos, interesting stuff, and what not but being on dial up at home does not make it easy to scan and post photos. Unfortunately, I am not that interesting of a person and have let things like life in general take over. Yes, I have been busy but that is not an excuse.

When I last left a post I was having a hard time deciding what to do with my collection. I did purchase a Factory Set to keep my Topps collection current. I also decided to purchase a box of 92 Fleer Ultra Series I to take advantage of free shipping from Dave and Adams. Why did I want the box? Easy, my Ultra collection is made up of a box of each series from 91-93 (bought a set in 94 for a real cheap price), figuring the collation in Fleer would be good enough to get a full set out of the box. My thoughts were almost dead on. I have a set of 91 and 92 Ultra and was less than 12 cards short in series I of a complete set in 93. I plan on finding some "junk wax" from that era to finish out my Stadium Club and Leaf sets, but I may also sumble accross a complet set at a price I can't turn down.

I also did not know what to do this year. I really liked the way Topps looked and thought about building a set by hand. I have not done this since 91 and gave serious consideration to that project. After careful thought, and examination of my checkbood, I have decided against it. I have gotten lazy in only getting a complet set at the end of the year anddecided to spend my efforts elseware in trying to finish off my older sets. That, and with there being no shops/shows in the area I would have to mail order anyway. I always had more fun in going to shows and walking out with a plethora of cards.

This year I will set a goal of re-orgainizing my collection, completing at least one main set, and work on my pre-69 Tiger sets. Sportlots and checkout my cards will be a big help in accomplishing this.

I plan on doing a side project here in posting an overview of the current team, maybe a player by player analysis of the 2010 Team. Spring training is starting soon, and the more I know about the players the better. I have never been to spring training and would love to go someday. As wonderful as my wife is, she will probalby plan a trip behind my back about the time I turn 50. That would be wonderful.

Trick or Treat

2009-11-05T06:21:00.005-06:00

I opened my mailbox this week to a surprise package from up the road in Arkansas. I could only be one thing, my Trick or Treat gift. Lets see what the master of randomness has in store.

Ty Cobb postcard thingy. Cobb looks like he is crying. Why are you crying Mr. Cobb? Is it because the Tigers choked away a pennant? What did you say? It is something else.

Oh my. Lofton is showing up everywhere.

Don Wert was the primary third baseman on a World Championship team. That makes him an ok player in my book, even though I am to young to have seen him play. No, A-Rod, I still don't like you.

Another Ty Cobb. League Leader from a long time ago. I really loved these cards when they first came out, and still like them today. I just don't think the idea of the Conlon Collection ever took hold.

Eric Munson was going to be the next great catcher of the Tigers. I don't remember what happened, but he did not do well when he made the big leagues. He did hang on for a couple of years (maybe played wiht the Astros?).

Gorkys Hernandez. Ohh, bright and shiny. Very shinny. Mesmorizing shinny.

Andrew Miller Stearling. Another shinny. I hope that Miller gets his delivery straightend out in AFL and ends up having a productive career.

I am tired of rain

2009-10-30T08:32:00.003-05:00

I am so sick of this rain. Over 26 inches for the month of October. This is on top of over 12 inches in September. We also had a wet spring. It was fun for some trying to get to work today (I only live about 1 mile away, so I had it easy).

On a brighter note, there have been some great pitched games in the WS so far. I hope that both staffs can keep it up over the weekend.

Lamenting my collecting habits

2009-10-29T13:13:00.001-05:00

I am at a crossroads right now when it comes to collecting. See, I am a weird person that never really got out of the hobby. I stopped buying boxes and trying to assemble sets back in the early 90s. Instead I just would buy a Topps factory set each year and just say "forget it". That was primarilly due to budget constraints, etc. This presents a problem on my part because I don't know what to do anymore. I have been trained to think that any product above $X is to much and I will pass on it.

What has happened when I pass on buying only sets and not boxes to hand collate the set is that I can't tell you what any of the cards look like. The desings on the past 15 or so years all look the same and I can't distinguish them in my head. Now, I can tell the difference between a 90 and 91 Leaf, or a 89, 90, 91 Upper Deck because I saw a lot of them. If you put a 93, 94 and 95 Topps card in front of my I probalby could not pick out which card belongs to which year,

Why am I rambling: easy, it is the 2010 Topps set. I have seen the sell sheets and the images. I really like the way the cards look. But I don't know if I want to pay about $50 per box to buy 4 boxes and try and collect the set by hand. Going back and trying to complete 92 Ultra by hand is easy and justifiable at the prices i can find boxes for, but I don't know about Topps.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Prize Winnings

2009-10-13T19:14:00.004-05:00

I received my prize winnings in the mail today from the Mojo Hand. I had yet to see any Goodwin cards in person, so I was curious to see what they looked like. I am impressed with how the cards looked, and the variety of current and retired players in the set. I am going to share some of the images here.

First the minis. It does not scan well, but the Upton is a foil card. The other two are black bordered and have Gypsy Queen on the back. I assume that the GQ are Short Prints, maybe.

Current stars. I like the old school logo on the McCann card. Jeter I am beginning to appreciate as I get older (he is still a Yankee).

HOFers. Can't go wrong with Knucksie and Fisk.

Misc. Cool, a card of LBJ and "Dracula". Dracula is a classic, and appropriate for the Halloween season.

Where I have been

2009-10-12T15:47:00.002-05:00

I have been negligent in updating my blog since the end of August. No reason why, just work and life in general have been really busy. Since I last posted, the Lions finally won a game, Michigan looks like they will go to a Bowl game this year, and the Tigers gacked away a Division title (just like 2006). I would celebrate by posting images, but it takes forever for an image to post from home using dial up, so just bear with me as I ramble today.

I celebrated the Lion win by breaking down and purchasing a pack of Philadelphia. I like these cards, but probably will not try and complete the set due to SPs, and stuff. Rack packs seem to be the way to go with this set if you are trying to get the 200 card main set. The first card in my pack was Brian Westbrook with the photo showing his jockstrap getting stretched out. Not an image that I am used to seeing on football cards.

The Tigers exceeded my expectations this year, but the way they ended the season was disappointing. They should have been a third place team, but made it to a playoff game. Next year should see a regression to the mean (third place) as Jackson and Porcello will probably not repeat the numbers from this year.

Card collecting has also been put on hold as I get ready for the holidays. I have stayed away from card shows and purchases (shows are not hard to stay away from as there are not many around here). My next purchase will be the 09 Topps factory set. I am also waiting on cards in the mail from the Mojo Hand after winning a contest over there, and Dave's Trick or Treat. Last year he sent some Lions and Bears to go along with Tigers. What will this year hold? Don't know but can't wait to find out.

I am late to the game

2009-08-21T16:14:00.001-05:00

It looks like I am the last person to weigh in on Topps' exclusive license. Do I think it is good or bad? Well, it depends.

Not a strong stand is it. Let me explain. We don't know what Topps has in store for collectors next year, and with them being the only game in town most collectors feel that quality will go down. Next year should be ok as most of the product calender has probably been set for the year, designs approved, and plans finalized. I would expect 2010 to be more of the same as this year, maybe without the gimmicks (don't hold your breath). What will happen in 2011? don't know, but I hope that Topps listens to what collectors are saying when they open their products.

Do I think there are to many sets out there now? Yes, but I also thought that back in the late 80s. If you take the time and look at the number of sets available in 1989 you would be probably be amazed. Let's see: Base sets for Donruss, Fleer, Score, Topps, Upper Deck, and the ressurection of Bowman (6 sets). Add Topps Tiffany, Fleer Glossy (I don't know if Score did one) for 2 more. Donruss issued an All Star set (available in packs) and a "Baseball's Best" set available as a factory set for 2 more. Score put out Scoremasters later that year, bringing our total to 11 off of the top of my head. Now add in the stuff like Toys R Us, Kay Bee, Woolworths, etc. and you get a bunch more "smaller" sets. I did not add Scores 100 hottest stars/rising stars sets as I don't remember if they were issued in 89. Oh, I aslo jsut remembered box bottom cards, rack pack inserts, wax inserts (Donruss All Stars/Grand Slammers Fleer's All Stars) and the number of sets is increasing. Try and collect all of those back from that time period and you are looking at a lot of time and effort. Some of these you would just stumble on to at card shops and card shows. You might also throw in Starting Lineup, if you consider that a set.

See, the problem with the nubmer of sets is not new. People complained back then that you could not collect everything. So what can we do about it? Not much, other than hope that the companies read our blogs and value the customer's opinion.

I also understand why there are so many sets. It is because there are different types of collectors. We collect what we like. Some only collect the base sets, or retro sets, or high end sets. Nothing wrong with that. Your collection should be a reflection of what you like and of you. I am what they call a set collector, but I only like the base cards. I don't like getting inserts/SPs in my packs (unless it is something cool, then I will keep it for my personal collection).

What would I do if I ran Topps? I would only tweek things up a little. I would advertise up front that the base set would consist of 3 series, realesed in Feb, May and Sep. Why do this? So we know what to expect. We would expect the first series to cotain a few stars and rookies that were called up late in the prior year, the second series to contain rookies who made the team out of spring training along with players that changed teams during the winter (that means if the palyer was a free agent who had not signed by the press run deadline they should not be in the first series). Don't give me 2 Sheffields! The third series will round out the set, and you could get the early season call ups. As far as inserts go, make the team checklists insert cards, along with separate All Rookie and All Star player cards. Try and make this at an entry level price point.

Next you would still produce the retro sets (Heritage and A & G) and release them as normal. Put SPs and relic/autograph cards in these sets. This will allow for a more challenging set build.

Also have a couple of "high end" products for those collectors who like those types of products. The market is there, and it is probably signifiacant enough to warrant the issuing of these sets.

I don't want to address the Bowman line as I have not followed that set since 91.

What should Upper Deck do? Maybe enter into an agreement with soem food products and put cards packaged with food (thing Tombstone Pizza or Kraft Cheese). Yes, cards inserted in those products might help increase sales. When I was a kid I would beg mom to buy stuff at the grocery store if they had cards in them. I at a bunch of Ho Ho's, Twinkies, Frosted Flakes, Chewey Granola bars, Nestle Candy bars, etc. back in the day. Wish I still had my Hostess cards. I think they got thrown away when I was a teenager. Would kids want Cheerios if they had cards in them? I don't know, but I would.

That ends today's portion of random thoughts. I am going out to the local Red/White scrimmage soon.

Today is contest day

2009-08-21T15:33:00.001-05:00

Card Cache is also sponsoring a huge A & G contest where one of the prizes is a complete 2009 base set. For free. Wow.

New Contest

2009-08-21T15:25:00.001-05:00

The collective Troll is holding a contest for a bunch of stuff here. All you have to do is be a follower of his blog and post a comment. Oh, and also vote for the Hall of Fame (I know of one player I am voting for).

Go ahead, visit and vote.

Welcome Aubrey Huff

2009-08-17T16:15:00.003-05:00

Link

Today the Tigers got Aubrey Huff from the Orioles for a low level pitching prospect. This move was probably necessary for a multiple of reasons, most of which they have a need for a backup third baseman that will allow Inge to rest. Huff is also a decent hitter, who seems to pick it up in the second half. I hope this move works out well for the Tigers. Heck, I just hope it works out better than another former Oriole who the Tigers got in August back 21 years ago by the name of Fred Lynn.

Football Time

2009-08-14T07:58:00.003-05:00

The football season is almost ready to kick off. The Lions first pre-season game is tomorrow, and there seems to be some optimism in the air for the first time in ages. Changes were finally made to a team that somehow managed to go 0-16 last year, heck they also went 4-0 during the pre-season. Management seems to finally have some sense of direction, after many years. I mean, this is the franchise that drafted Andre Ware to run the Run and Shoot offense (when they had Barry Sanders already).

This card just screams "Epic Fail"!

My high school alma mater in Michigan begins play next Friday. They have traditionally stunk. In 2005 they made the High School Playoffs for the first time EVER. This is not a new school either as I was a member of the 100th graduation class over 20 years ago.

Our local college begins their season on 8/29 agianst DII power North Alabama. SAU has a new coach, so this is going to be a long season as the offense transitions from the flexbone offense to a variant of the spread. Oh, and the defense doesn't have many returnees either.

Michigan is next to start. I would like to just forget last year. First losing season in my lifetime.

I am also thinking about starting to get back into collecting Football cards again. I did when I was a kid and ended up giving them all to a friend as I just wanted to concentrate on Baseball. Do I regret it, not now. If I still had them back in the early 90s I would have just traded or sold all of the ones that I could have gotten good money for. I think that I am just going to concentrate on finding some Pro Set Football as I really liked the cards (I am a sucker for full bleed photos). Maybe I will hand collect another set (Philadelphia is tempting), if I can pull the trigger on a box (rack packs of 20 are 4.97 at Wal Mart, which makes them better values than a blaster).

Group Break

2009-08-13T16:07:00.000-05:00

Project 62 is trying to organize a group box break of a large number of wax boxes. He is only asking for $20.00 per team, which is only the cost of one blaser of A & G.

IMO, that is not a bad deal, especailly when one of the boxes is an 81 Fleer Vending (probalby won't have any of the error cards, but the set is over 20 years old).

Go here to sign up.

Random Cards

2009-08-12T08:23:00.004-05:00

Recently I signed up for some random cards from Dave at Tribe Cards. I asked for random, and random is what I got. Here is a good sample of the bounty that I received.

Jim Turner. Super Bowl XII is the first one that I remember watching as a kid. It was also the first one to be held at night.

89 Score Biggio. Kid had a bright career at catcher, but the Astros moved him to 2nd base to save his knees and extend his career.

Tino rated rookie. Generally Donruss did a good job of selecting their Rated Rookies for the sets.
Kind of reminds me of the old time Broncos logo.

My very first UD X card. I don't like these cards either.

T-A-M-M-Y.

V-Mart jersey card. Saw the orange and thought it was from the game at Detroit. Oh well.
Magneto. I loved the x-men as a kid.
Hambone card. I like this card, but I think I will give it to our assistant pastor as he is a big Rangers (and Hamilton) fan.
Checklists. You can't tell what cards in a set that you need without a checklist.

Again, thanks for the cards Dave, they were great.

Rain

2009-07-28T08:26:00.002-05:00

You have got to love the weather around here. Earlier this year I was complianing because we have had to much rain. I could not mow my yard because part of it was under water. Then it got hot, real hot. Like multiple 100 degree days hot. Now it is raining again, and will rain all week. I have a beautiful view of main street from my office and I can hardly see anything because it is so dark outside (the office lights are reflecting off of the window).

Also, a memo to Dave Dombrowski. Please get another starting pitcher and a good bat for the lineup. I don't expect to win this year but it will help for next year.

I would complain about how bad players are, but then I remember that they are better than me and I would not be able to get a hit against high school pitching, let along major league pitching.

Card Show Time

2009-07-26T12:55:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I went to a card show at a nearby convention center. I did not know there was a show there until Friday, but being a good boy I found time in my schedule to go on Saturday and try and help some people get rid of their cards. And I was happy that I did as there were bargains to be had.

First up are two cards that I needed to complete sets that I broke up years ago.

Back in 1990 when I was a poor newly married man I decided that it was a good idea to break up a couple of sets and sell the "high dollar" cards and get more cards, and gas, and go out with the wife to dinner. These sets are now complete, and at a fraction of what I originally sold them for.

Next, I got some commons that helped me work on older Tiger sets, and some of my early 80s Fleer and Donruss.

I could not resist taking Rocky home. He might hurt me if I don't treat him nice.

Last, there were a couple of guys there that were selling junk wax and junk sets. They were selling them cheap. I was able to pick up some 93 Stadium Club, 92 Ultra, and 93 Ultra for a really good price. I am going to have fun opening those packs, and will have some doubles to trade off when I get everything organized (probably sometime in September at the rate I am going).

I am a Procrastinator

2009-07-23T15:47:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally finished taking down my wall paper boarder (it only took 4 days) and painted the room on Friday. In the meantime I kinda forgot about this blog. Let's see what I missed after the All-Star game: Tigers offense still stinks (kinda like the Lions). Went to a minor league game in which the home team only scored 1 run for both games, which does not bode well for future Angel players.

Also, congrats on the perfect game Mr. Buhrle.

All Star Game

2009-07-13T10:20:00.003-05:00

I am taking a break from tearing off wallpaper. Guys, if you ever do this make sure you have plenty of patience. It is a very time consuming job.

The first ASG that I remember was 1977 and I was mad that the only Tiger to make it was Jason Thompson. I thought the Tigers were the best team in baseball (I was 7) and that they had gotten the shaft by only having one player selected. As I grew older and more cynicle I realized that the game was a popularity contest and that sometimes players would have to prove themselves over the course of a career to make the team, or be a hot rookie. I hope that I get to settle down and watch some of the game tomorrow night, but I don't know if I can handle the fox broadcast. I am still mad a two years ago when the game did not start til almost 8:00. Oh well, I guess that I am just a bitter old man.

Back to tearing down wallpaper.

Congrats

2009-07-10T15:30:00.001-05:00

I am a little late, but congrats to Brandon Inge on being named to the All-Star team. I will admit that he was not my favorite Tiger when he first came up (because he could not hit his weight). Funny how a move from catcher to third base can change things. He is a much better third basemen than he is catcher, and somehow he seems to hit better when he is not behind the plate.

Captured Fail

2009-07-10T07:27:00.001-05:00

One of the things that I like about the early 90s “premium” brands is that each brand tried to be able to stand out. It seemed that each of the companies focused on a “look” for each of their sets, and they would feature good photos that usually would go well with the card front. Stadium Club was a brand that focused on its Kodak photography, Leaf was a brand that had a distinctive silver boarder on it’s cards that gave it a great look. In their second year Leaf stepped up the use of good photos on their cards.

Look at this photo and how it stands out. Look at the ivy covered walls, the sun playing havoc with the fielder’s eyes. See the ball that has already bounced off of the wall because Martinez lost it in the sun. Somehow I don’t think that Martinez would be happy to sign this card if someone sent it to him in the mail.

The Beginning

2009-04-17T17:15:00.007-05:00

For my first post I batted around many ideas. Do i talk about why I am doing this? Introduce myself? or something else? I plan to treat this blog as therapy for unwinding after a long day. Card collecting has been a hobby since I was 7, which seems like a long time ago. I spent many a summer in Michigan going to the local Ben Franklin, IGA, or Moore's store and pick up packs of cards when we went to town. That is how I got most of my cards. As I got older I discovered flea markets. Then when I got married I stopped, except for a Topps set. But on a whim in 2002 I stopped in a small card shop and bought 2 packs of Upper Deck Vintage (because they were cheap) and pulled this card in the second pack.

Needless to say I was hooked again. I decided to spring for a box and try and complete the set, which was something I had not done since 1991. I also started to look for card shows and find cards to complete those sets that I had been hauling around from house to house for all these many years.